Katharine the Great: Katharine Graham and Her Washington Post Empire

by Deborah Davis

An unauthorized account of the secret power behind the Washington Post, and the woman who took down President Nixon. In the early 1970s, Katharine Graham was one of the most powerful women on earth. As the publisher of the Washington Post, she published the Pentagon Papers, which shed light on the darkest corners of the war in Vietnam, and she oversaw the investigation into Watergate that would bring down President Richard Nixon. Her story is one of the greatest triumphs in the history of American journalism, but she may have had a secret the Central Intelligence Agency. In this stunning biography, veteran reporter Deborah Davis unearths the truth about the Washington Post and the family that ran it. Upon the first printing of Katharine the Great, the original publisher pulled the book under pressure from Katharine Graham and her editor-in-chief, Benjamin Bradlee, who demanded that it be destroyed. Nothing in the book was ever disproven, and it stands today as a testament to dogged reporting and the unmatched power of the intelligence community. Don't miss the new Steven Spielberg film, The Post, starring Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham and Tom Hanks as Benjamin Bradlee.

Genres: Biography, History, Politics, Journalism, Nonfiction, Memoir

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Deborah Davis is a journalist whose principal interest is the analysis of political power. After earning her degree in political science at the University of California at Berkeley in 1971, she was a regular contributor to the Village Voice, where her reports on city and state politics earned her a reputation as a formidable investigative reporter. In 1976 Ms. Davis left New York for Washington to begin her study of Katharine Graham, where she invested more than three years interviewing, investigating, and conducting research.

Ms. Davis is currently working on a biography of Henry and Clare Boothe Luce. She was born in Chicago, and now lives in Washington.

Reviews

[Margie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd give this 1.5 stars if that was an option. It's pretty disappointing. The author's main premise is that The Washington Post and members of its staff were cooperating with the CIA. The premise would make an interesting book, but it's presented as a biography of Katharine Graham, which it's not.

Even more disappointing is the lack of attribution/documentation. Because she doesn't identify where quotes or suppositions are coming from, the book comes across as the author's screed against The Post and Ben Bradlee in particular. It's frustrating because the premise is interesting and perhaps supportable; without demonstrating the support, it's not a premise worth considering.

The book is also poorly edited. She goes on at one point for three paragraphs listing the cities an embassy memo was sent to, for no apparent reason. Many of her sentences are convoluted run-ons with multiple embedded clauses. Here's an example:
The confused company records that she found upon Phil's death, the fragmented authority, the easygoing labor policy, his having given the unions a "stake in the Washington Post" through profit-sharing because he lacked the money for a pension plan - these practices, all of which grew in some way out of Phil's character, suddenly seemed to Katharine, who knew something about business, to have been rather amateurish.
I frequently had to reread sentences or even paragraphs in order to make sense of them. Davis also frequently uses pronouns in such a way that it's difficult to tell to whom or what she's referring.

Not recommended.

[Sarah McMullan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. A bit staid in places. Sounds like a formidable woman!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katharine Graham was a woman of her time--brilliant but kept to her place as a wife and mother, until her husband died and she inherited the Washington Post. Heralded as the publisher behind revelations of the Watergate scandal, this book, published just a few years later, shows a more complete picture. She kowtowed to presidents and their secretaries, and suppressed wages and benefits for her press workers, only agreeing to expose Nixon when forced. History is messy and this book reveals the messiness of this era.

[Jith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confused, repetitious and unclear narrative but well researched and an important insight into mechanisms of power. Interesting to contrast (though there is no outright conflict) with the recent Spielberg movie "The Post".

She should revise it as a narrative; I think its unnecessary outside of pure academic texts to just present non-fiction so unstructured and without clear themes. We need stories to have context and engage with.

[R A Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katharine Graham

Parts of it are interesting, but considering that the subject is supposed to be Katherine Graham only about a quarter is devoted to her and there is far too much detail about other people and events and would have expected to find much more details about the main events affecting Graham. Not a patch on the original book written by Katharine Graham herself. I did finish the book so I suppose it dud keep me interested.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

#16 of 120 books pledged to read during 2022

This book seems more like a bigger biography of Katharine Graham's parents, the Meyers, and her late husband Philip Graham who was given the paper to run by Mr. Meyer, rather than to his own daughter. It also has extensive info about Katharine's managing editor Ben Bradlee. Interesting, but certainly not a bio of Katharine. I recommend Katharine's autobiography, "Personal History", which is one of the better ones I've read.

[Dr. Patricia Chatman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Jayne Mackta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some things never change

Clear and compelling writing about a relevant period in the life of democracy. Great insight into the world of an American princess.

[Marianne Belock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye opening.

[Fer Soria · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a walk throughout history.

[F. Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat craving in spots but a good read. I called can't imagine what was in this book that had the principal players up in arms.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half, very interesting! Second half, more challenging, with lots of details into politics and "Watergate". Hence the amount of time it took me to read.

NOTE: This is a very controversial, un-authorized biography! Just six weeks after the original 1979 release, the publisher demanded all books be pulled and destroyed. A lawsuite had uncovered that 20,000 copies had been officially shredded.

How did I get this copy? Hmmmm....You have to find one and read.

Which do you believe more? Authorized or not? That might determine if this book really is for you.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is about the owner of The Washington Post newspaper during the time and exposure of Watergate, in which the Post played a dominant part. An unflattering portrait of wealth and privilege. A pretty boring book unless one has a vested interest in reading it. My vested interest is that I bought it as a "bag-filler" in a library sale.... There weren't many good guys on white horses during that period.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good biography of the woman who brought Nixon down by letting Woodward & Bernstein publish what Deep Throat told them. The first edition was withdrawn from publication and it was later republished. I would have liked to know more about the CIA involvement, but that part may have been redacted or perhaps less known when this was published.