The Chief: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons

by Lance Morrow

Parental and political power are focused on in this memoir of the relationship between the author, a successful journalist, and his father, who, for twenty years, was Nelson Rockefeller's speech-writer, press secretary, and confidant

249 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Lance Morrow was an American essayist and writer, chiefly for Time magazine, as well as the author of several books. He won the 1981 National Magazine Award for Essay and Criticism and was a finalist for the same award in 1991. He had the distinction of writing more "Man of the Year" articles than any other writer in the magazine's history and has appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and The O'Reilly Factor. He was a former professor of journalism and University Professor at Boston University.

Reviews

[RYD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lance Morrow's father was a Standard Evening Post journalist and senior aide of Nelson Rockefeller's. This book is a portrait of Hugh Morrow and a memoir of Lance Morrow's childhood. Morrow teaches at Boston University, and I took a class from him as a graduate student in journalism. I grew up in Seattle and Alaska, and Morrow epitomized for me the East as many westerners see it. He was an aristocrat who could tell personal stories about many U.S. leaders who he'd known both before and while they were powerful. Yet Morrow was surprising unpretentious in a way I suppose people really comfortable with their own pedigree can be. He was a funny guy in class and a good listener and story teller. While he was an opinionated conservative, he never seemed threatened by, or dismissive of, opposing views.

[Steve Mayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book with interest, because I lived across the street from the Morrows when they lived in Yonkers. Their house was just as he describes it: squalid, overrun with children, and perched on the top of a steep hill. Hugh aand Lance, of course, were distant figures, because i was only ten and they were much older. But i enjoyed reading Lance's memoir of his difficult relationship with his dad, even if some of it (e.g., his conversion to Catholicism) didn't make much sense to me. Perhaps a tad over-written, but interesting for anyone interested in the male mores of a bygone era.