Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom

by Carl Bernstein

In this triumphant memoir, Carl Bernstein, the Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthor of All the President’s Men and pioneer of investigative journalism, recalls his beginnings as an audacious teenage newspaper reporter in the nation’s capital―a winning tale of scrapes, gumshoeing, and American bedlam.

In 1960, Bernstein was just a sixteen-year-old at considerable risk of failing to graduate high school. Inquisitive, self-taught―and, yes, truant―Bernstein landed a job as a copyboy at the Evening Star, the afternoon paper in Washington. By nineteen, he was a reporter there.

In Chasing History, Bernstein recalls the origins of his storied journalistic career as he chronicles the Kennedy era, the swelling civil rights movement, and a slew of grisly crimes. He spins a buoyant, frenetic account of educating himself in what Bob Woodward describes as “the genius of perpetual engagement.”

Funny and exhilarating, poignant and frank, Chasing History is an extraordinary memoir of life on the cusp of adulthood for a determined young man with a dogged commitment to the truth.

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

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 11, 2022

About the author

Carl Bernstein is an American journalist who, as a reporter for The Washington Post along with Bob Woodward, broke the story of the Watergate break-in and consequently helped bring about the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon. For his role in breaking the scandal, Bernstein received many awards; his work helped earn the Post a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1973.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carl Bernstein is best known as the crack Watergate reporter played by Dustin Hoffman in All the President’s Men. When you see a book about Bernstein, you immediately think Watergate. However, what he offers us in this autobiographical sketch is something other then Watergate. Rather, We Meet a young Carl a few years earlier, from his high school years at 16 through his newspaper apprenticeship as a copy boy and then a reporter until age 21 or roughly 1960 through 1965.

What we readers get is two things. First, we get a coming-of-age story of young Carl, bored with high school, and fascinated by the newspaper business back when we had real journalism. The story is how this young kid worked his way onto the reporting staff despite barely finishing high school and never finishing college. On the way, we learn firsthand about the newspaper business.

Secondly, by virtue of working at a newspaper in the nation’s capitol, Carl had a front-row seat to world-altering events from the launch of Sputnik to the electrifying voice of a young senator from Massachusetts, from the lunch counter civil rights sit-ins to the shocking demise of the young president. Few of us had teenage years so intimately entwined with the great events of the day.

Well-written, intriguing, and hard to put down, Bernstein’s autobiography limited as it is to a few exciting years is one you shouldn’t miss, particularly if you want to hear a firsthand perspective of the early years of the Sixties.

[Lisa Taddeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant and required reading.
And breeds a sort of nostalgia not just for truth, but also for basic human kindness.

[Theo Logos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carl Bernstein began his education in the news business as a self describe juvenile delinquent the summer before his senior year of high school. That’s when he landed a job as a copy boy at The Washington Evening Star. He was sixteen. By nineteen he was a full reporter.

In this extraordinary memoir he recounts his youth learning the news trade in the nation’s Capitol during one of the most consequential eras in our history. While still a teenager, he participated in stories ranging from Sputnik, the Kennedy inaugural, the Cuban Missile Crisis, The March on Washington, and the Kennedy assassination. He lets us see with the eyes of a boy eager to soak up and learn all he can the frenetic activity of a great news room as it covered these historic stories.

This unique coming of age memoir is fascinating in its details and its perspective on the great happenings of the Kennedy and early Johnson Administrations. No enthusiast of American History or journalism should miss it.

[Susan Tunis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bad Boy Carl Rides Again

This would be a five-star read, even if it wasn't incredibly personal. "How is it personal?" I hear you asking. I'll get to that. Chasing History is legendary journalist Carl Bernstein's memoir of his introduction to the newsroom of the Washington Star newspaper--as a 16-year-old kid. It takes place from 1960-1965. Mr. Bernstein started out as a copy boy, and before you know it he was out on the street covering JFK's inauguration! I guess DC being your hometown helps if you're a kid reporter.

The Maryland suburbs, actually. Throughout the memoir, he refers to the "close-knit" group of teens he socialized with on Harvey Road. My mom and her siblings were very much a part of that group. (There's a picture of my teenage aunt dancing with him in the book--she helped supply him with some of the photos from back in the day.) And close-knit doesn't really do it justice. Pushing 80, this gang still gets together every now and again. They have literally been friends for life. Everything Mr. Bernstein writes about matches the countless stories I've heard from Mom over the years. Her best friend of the time is referenced repeatedly. The places they went--and the trouble Carl was constantly in! I'll never forget watching Mr. Bernstein on the news with her and hearing her say, "Ooh, he was a bad boy!" with so much affection. Now, when I watch Bad Boy Carl on CNN, I can see the wicked gleam in his eyes and it charms me!

So, enough about my family. Forget that he's an old family friend. Forget that HE BROUGHT DOWN A PRESIDENT! Even without that, this would be a must-read memoir. The title Chasing History is really apt. Carl Bernstein has been a witness to history. He was THERE when Kennedy uttered the famous "Ask not what your country can do for you..." lines (although they were muffled by earmuffs, LOL). He was THERE when MLK gave the "I have a dream..." speech! So many world-altering events happened in the few years covered by this memoir, and oh-my-god, he was just a freakin' kid covering these stories! And obviously, the people he knew, the events he witnessed, that's what makes a memoir noteworthy. But as my mother, my aunt, my uncle, and even I could tell you, Carl Bernstein is a real character. Always has been. And it's pretty darn delightful strolling down memory lane and chasing history with him.

[Isabel Tueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging perspective on history, you could feel like you were living in his shoes

[Joseph Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

He brought down Richard Nixon, but his ex-wife wrote When Harry Met Sally. You tell me who “changed America forever”

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself engaged by this book in learning about the workings of reporting/publishing in this Washington, DC, newspaper's history plus biography of an interesting writer. I recommend it for the storytelling and the history.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carl Bernstein of Woodward & Bernstein fame recounts his first years during the early 1960s in the newspaper profession. He began his career at The Washington Evening Star, which went of out business in 1981. I liked reading the Star's sports section and book reviews. While maturing into a news journalist, Bernstein did the boys-will-be-boys antics like cutting class and drag racing. I liked his deadpan humor, unpretentious tone, and chatty prose. Be sure to read the Epilogue where he tells what became of his bosses and coworkers. All in all, a satisfying read.

[Angie Boyter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carl Bernstein and I were born the same year and both grew up in Maryland, and I cannot imagine any better evocation of the years of our late teens and twenties, both the many major events of the time and also the vibe of the era. It was Memory Lane for me on steroids, but I hope it will give insights to younger readers as well. For example, when I talk to younger people who are justifiably concerned about today's unrest I try to console them a bit by letting them know that earlier times have been as bad if not worse. I hope the book might help them understand that period a bit better.
However, there is a lot more to the book than the era; this is Bernstein's story of his early career in journalism. It is a fascinating inside look at the workings of a daily newspaper, including what sounded to me like a terrifically complicated process, and at the lives of the hard-drinking staff.
In addition, Bernstein himself is quite a character! Obviously an extremely intelligent and capable person, he flunked out of the University of Maryland multiple times and never completed his degree, not because he could not but because school just never interested him!
So at bottom no matter what generation you belong to, I think you will find a lot to enjoy in Chasing History.
NOTE: This is the story of Bernstein's EARLY career and does NOT include the Watergate era when his writing made him truly a household name.

[Steve Essick · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had to pick one word to describe Carl Bernstein’s new memoir, #ChasingHistory, it would be “exhilarating “. There wasn’t a page in the book where I didn’t feel Bernstein’s exuberance in working for a newspaper and his sheer joy translates to a rousing reading experience . It starts with its subtitle, “ A Kid In The Newsroom “ , which more aptly describes the book you’re about to read. The story covers Mr. Bernstein’s first years in journalism', the early to mid plus sixties , of which there is plenty of history to chase. Beginning his journalism career at The Washington Evening Times when he’s only a junior in high school, Bernstein learns the newspaper business with such gusto it’s a joy to read. And the more you read', the more you realize that the book’s title refers not only to the history being made in the sixties, but just as importantly, because of twenty four hour news cycles and social media, the history of newspaper journalism and the way it used to be. Through his ups and downs, Mr Bernstein gives us an unbiased and joyous account of many of the events that turned him into the award winning journalist he became. By all means do yourself a favor and discover what #ChasingHistory means for one very talented exhilarated man .

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carl Bernstein is the storied partner of Bob Woodward, the Watergate investigative reporter. Bernstein tells his story of being a young journalist in Washington, DC, and all the old-time newspaperman he worked for. One would think that this would be a fascinating read, and a few sections are, such as his witnessing JFK's presidential election campaign stop at a suburban high school. However, a good deal of the book is taken up with rather mundane recountings of people and places Bernstein encounters over the years.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of Carl Bernstein's memoir, in which he describes his start in the news business at the Washington Star at the age of sixteen. But, after a detailed (and fascinating) description of his first few years at the paper, his book turned into a disjointed series of reflections on events of the day. Just one example: he mentions that General MacArthur was near death and then never brings up the subject again. Since I was in the crowd watching the General's funeral procession on April 11, 1964, I would have at least expected Bernstein to mention that he had died.

[Jerry Dreesen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating telling of Berstein's beginning career as a newspaper reporter. Very heavy on detail, some of which did nothing to move the story forward. But that took nothing away from the details that made the story worth reading...or listening to. Interestingly, Bob Woodward 's name was only mentioned a couple of times, which in my mind, was appropriate.
The epilog, I thought, wrapped it up well, telling how each of his fellow newsmen and women of those early days lived and died.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Chasing History, Carl Berstein recalls his first years in the world of newspapers, working for the Washington Star in D.C., starting at the age of 16. It was the early 1960s, and he covered many significant events during his time there.

This was a really intriguing look into the way newspapers worked back in the 1960s. The book was a good blend of his personal life, professional life, and the news of the day. There is quite a long epilogue if you want to know what happened to many of the people mentioned in the book after its end.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining account of Carl Bernstein’s early newspaper days. He started writing for newspapers in high school at 16 years old. He barely graduated high school, spending more time writing for his paper than attention to science. The same thing happens in college when he is working as a staff writer but the newspaper he writes for expects graduation from college and he must obtain a degree to stay away from the draft. The book gives a very nice portrait of a reporter who helped bring down a president and reported on Watergate.

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Piper,

The journalism icon tells the story of how he started out and what newsrooms used to be like. I listened to it since he narrated some of it himself. It was fascinating to hear him talk about the worries of being drafted, the civil rights movement, JFK assassination, and being a college dropout.

[Vince Tuss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four-plus. It gives you a great sense of an old-school newsroom. As well as the one person detailed in its pages that I knew in real life, Charles Puffenbarger. A lot of fun here and it made me miss D.C.

[Madeline Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you were on your high school or college newspaper you will love this and if you weren’t you might not.

[Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting memoir about an interesting man during an interesting time in our country’s history. Interesting!

[Eva Surovell · Rating 3 out of 5]

i guess i never thought about how newspapers operated before computers existed but i absolutely could not have been a reporter if i had been forced to dictate my stories while actively drafting them in my head🤮

[Ann Herrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting walk through Bernstein's start as writer.

[Woodstock Pickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read, I was reminded over and over of the advice to determine what you love and find a way to get paid for doing it. Carl Bernstein did just that - at the expense of a formal education, because his increasing assignments working at the now defunct Washington Evening Star kept him too busy to go to school.
He began at the Star as a teenager, still in high school, working as a copy boy but maneuvering his way into more and more demanding assignments. He endured the Kenndy inauguration night blizzard in 1960, was part of the crowd of the 1963 March on Washington, and observed over and over again the early days of the civil rights struggle played out in the streets and neighborhoods of his home town Washington, D C.
The book is filled with intriguing personality sketches of the journalists he worked with, many of them famous names.
Even though by now many of us know how his career of 60 plus years unfolded, he keeps his focus on the early days of that career - showing us how he learned and what he learned, against the background of important days 20th century America.

[David Mattingly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chasing History by Carl Bernstein is scheduled to be published next week. It is not only a great biography that tells the story of a high school student who joined the Washington Star as a copyboy but also the history of what was happening in Washington, DC during the early 1960s. The story begins with Bernstein telling his story of a kid growing up in suburban Maryland, paying more attention to getting his foot in the door of the Star than getting his high school diploma much less thinking of college.

Bernstein joined the newsroom before reporters took on the role of celebrity or newsmaker. The book is laced with names of Washington notables, national politicians, and Washington stores and restaurants which are long gone.

The reader will find Chasing History an enjoyable and sometimes a lighthearted read and makes the reader think about how Bernstein made it to the big leagues of journalism. If you enjoy history or are interested in journalism, I highly recommend you read Chasing History!
Available January 11, 2022.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chasing History is a story about the newspaper business. Carl Berstein started as a copyboy when he was a teenager. He learned from every job at the newspaper about how to be a good reporter. This is a story of sadly a past time. Newspapers are going out of business regularly. The production of newspapers has evolved but no seems to be reading them. This is sad. Also there was a time when you got a job and showed aptitude a business would let you learn on the job. This also seems to be a thing of the past.

This book is a good story of what it was like in the 1960s. I really enjoyed it. Too bad those days are gone.

Thank you to #goodreads, @CarlBernstein, and @HenryHoltbooks for a copy of this book.

[Ted D · Rating 1 out of 5]

completely disappointing

A long slog through names and experiences of interest to Carl Bernstein, but not the average reader. incredibly, despite its length, he stops BEFORE Watergate, which is the most interesting part of his career. Do not bother with this book.

[Margaret Carmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book to review for my column in the Idaho Press. Here is my review in full:

There's a reason making a newspaper is known as "the daily miracle," even now.

So much has changed in the world of journalism in the past several decades. The ranks of journalists nationwide have thinned as advertising revenue shifts to other avenues and people reach for their smartphones in the morning to learn about the news of the day. There's also the rampant political polarization and deep distrust of official news and information that threatens to tear our world apart at the seams.

When Carl Bernstein started his career as an Evening Star copyboy in 1960, he contended with none of these things. He entered a world of journalism where dozens of reporters would cover a single event and they relied heavily on dictating stories through the phone before you could draft on your phone in the field. His competition was the the Washington Post and the television stations, instead of the endlessly enthralling world of Youtube and podcasts that made you question everything you could read on newsprinted pages.

But, despite the differences in the Bernstein's world of journalism and mine, so much remains the same. His memoir "Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom" recounted not his years as a blockbuster reporter forcing the resignation of President Richard Nixon, but instead focused on his earliest days learning on the job. He covered what it was like to move through the ranks from copyboy (AKA errand boy) to a dictationist who took in information from reporters in the field to writing his own stories. He cut his teeth in neighborhood association meetings, writing crowd color at major political rallies and parades along with the typical shootings and fires common in every newsroom.

It would be easy to read this book and feel down about the golden days of journalism seventy years ago and how far news has fallen. Instead, I found myself shining with hope reading this account of a career's earliest moments. All of the things that made Bernstein a good reporter are all the same things that make someone a good reporter today. He succeeded by willing to try any beat, go to any assignment and truly listen both to his sources and the fellow reporters he worked with. Reporters who go into the field hoping for a specific lifestyle or story style or career often find themselves frustrated, while those like Bernstein who can find themselves interested in mostly anything are the ones who dig in and find the magic of this strange profession.

And Bernstein wasn't just learning how to do journalism in any town during any period. He writes extensively here about 1960s Washington D.C. as only a local can, while also with the viewpoint as a reporter who got up close and personal with civil rights protests, three presidential administrations and growing anxiety over the war in Vietnam. And at the same time, he painted a picture of D.C. as a national political capital, but essentially still a small, segregated Southern town full of small cafes frequented by big players and football rivalries charged with the racial tension of the time. It's a story about the place where he grew up as much as it was about journalism and the news of the day.

This book appeals to both readers who love journalism and want to see how it really works as well as anyone who wants to transport themselves back in time to a period altogether more complicated and simpler than this one. Bernstein is giving a masterclass here on how to become a great reporter in 1960 or in 2024 and beyond.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where do you get your news? Like most of my fellow millennials, I mostly consume news from social media and on my phone. I'm grateful to have access to so many different sources, but filtering through all of the noise can be quite the task. My earliest recollections of being aware of the news stem from watching my grandfather consume the morning newspaper and completing the daily crossword puzzle. For decades, the local newspaper was the best way to learn what was going on in your community. Acclaimed journalist Carl Bernstein is no stranger to the allure of the news. In fact, his landmark reporting on the Watergate Scandal marked the beginning of the end for Richard Nixon's presidency. In his new book Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom, Bernstein recalls his early years as a young man looking to make his mark on history.

At just sixteen years old, Carl Bernstein landed a job as a copy boy at Washington's Evening Star. Using his knowledge of the town he grew up in, he quickly ingratiated himself with the more tenured newspaper men. A career in journalism, however, seemed far away for the young man who was struggling to pass even the most rudimentary of high school courses. It isn't that Bernstein wasn't smart. In fact, in his early days with the Evening Star, he was already showing the potential to become an observant and nuanced reporter. Still, he would have to graduate from school if he ever dreamed of making a career out of the news.

Bernstein's beginning in the business couldn't have come at a more noteworthy time. Some of his first assignments centered around attending campaign events for the young presidential hopeful John F. Kennedy, crime sprees in the city, and the growing movement for civil rights. Unlike other reporters, both up and coming and tenured, Bernstein had a knack for connecting with the people involved in the stories he told. His connection to the city and the people gave him an advantage that saw him become a reporter for the publication at only nineteen years old.

Chasing History is a time capsule of sorts. The time and place that Bernstein tells about is one that I've only read about in history books or seen in old newsreels. Bernstein transports the reader to this era through his vivid descriptions, candid recollections, and quick wit. Just as the country was on the cusp of great changes, so was this young man growing into adulthood. Bernstein's personal life is intertwined with news-making history. He's grappling with the injustices of racism as he struggles to graduate from high school. He sees the nation mourn the death of a young president as he brims with the hope of growing personal romance. Bernstein's willingness to give the reader unbridled access to his life during this time helps to ground the larger historical moments in a reality that every reader can relate to. Chasing History succeeds as a memoir, origin story of an incredible career, and chronicle of history.

[John Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have an appreciation of the role a free press has on society, relish history, have an interest in the civil rights movement, or enjoy reading about Washington DC, this is a must-read for you. As with all other Bernstein books, it’s quick, fun, and has a twist or two as you turn the page.

Superb book on a now famous kid who made his way into a career that usually required a college degree and made it to the top of his profession without connections or formal education. Hard work, dedication, probing questions, curiosity, and true grit allowed Carl Bernstein to start a newspaper career while failing in high school and later college – and excel. The bonus of this book is Bernstein’s taking the reader on an unique tour of his DC hometown, especially sharing the racist practices in the highly segregated city that housed the government of the “home of the free.” The release of this book is perfect timing at a time of racial reawakening and after we suffered from a president who attacked the free press.

Starting at 16, Bernstein found the career that propelled him to help take down a president and allow him a career of magnificent accomplishment and rewards as a copyboy. It was 1960, the year I was born, and despite the newspaper’s coverage of the energized civil right’s movement, the afternoon paper had no African American reporters – and women were mostly harnessed in the “Women’s Department,” covering what women were supposed to be concerned about in those days.

In his typical Bernstein style, he takes the reader on a tour of a 1960 newsroom, one that had been the same for decades – older technology, news driven men (and nearly only white men), and technology where everyone had their role and moved the production line of news. As Bernstein points out, with the assassination of President Kennedy, television news was already taking it’s place in news delivery and afternoon papers were being challenged when people moved further way from the center city with the development of suburbs and more trouble in getting the afternoon paper into the hands of readers; people also learned the value of relaxing and just watching the three evening news broadcasts.

It was a time when unions were strong – the Newspaper Guild after a tough strike and the Typographical Union with white men dominating the production of the actual paper. Bernstein points out that since the printing trades were large in Washington DC – really the biggest manufacturing work in the largely white collar city requiring many reports – many graduates of Gallaudet College found meaningful careers in printing. Bernstein reports that upwards to a third of the Typographical workers were deaf. He shared that the ITU would hold Chapel meetings in the composing room with the union holding them in English and sign language. He also pointed out the strict rules that didn’t permit anyone other than union members to even touch type. It was a clear indication of the power unions had in the newspaper industry back in the 1960s.

Racism was also strong. Bernstein speaks of how he had participated in picketing against segregation with his leftist parents, how Washington closed pools rather than desegregate them, and how he covered the civil rights movement as a very young reporter. He shared how the neighborhood associations were segregated – and now one even questioned it. He also reported how the newspaper played a role in holding up that type of prejudicial society, easier done when the management – and all reporters – are white, mostly males.

Bernstein love for journalist, his parents, and justice is brought to life in this quick reading book. As someone who had thought of a career in journalism, in part due to Bernstein’s role in the reporting that brought down President Nixon during my own teens, it was an incredible pleasure to take this journey with him from when he was 16 until he was 24.

[Andie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernstein’s book of his early days of reporting for the now defunct Washington Star reads like it could have jumped from the pages of The Front Page. There are the bells going off on the teletype machine denoting a news flash coming in, reporters calling in news stories to “dictationists” who type up the stories as the reporters are dictating them, linotype men setting one of the paper’s five editions in type, and the rumbling printing presses that make the building shake. The only thing missing is Bernstein running into the composing room yelling, “STOP THE PRESSES!”

Bernstein surely had newspapers in his blood, starting as a copyboy at age 16 while he was still in high school Bernstein works his way up to general assignment reporter and manages to be present for quite a lot of history along the way. He also manages to come in contact with the kind of colorful characters that filled books, and movies for the first half of the twentieth century.

This book makes me sad for what has been lost in our digital age and makes me want to read a print newspaper again.

[Linda Odell · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a student journalist for my college newspaper, I experienced a bit of the very tail end of the time period Bernstein writes about (Linotype, wire service teleprinters and carbon paper, anyone?) in this pre-Watergate memoir about his teenage running copy-boy errands and taking dictation from reporters in the field for a now-defunct Washington D.C. paper. So that likely explains part of my enthusiasm for this book. But I was also struck with his proximity to so many events -- Cuban missile crisis, JFK's assassination, passage of the Civil Rights Bill, school desegregation, bombing of the Birmingham church that killed four Black girls -- that are part of the story of what continues to ail us today. He reveals himself to be deeply curious, observant of people and details, and a voracious consumer of background, something else this context-dependent reader appreciated as well. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.