One Man's America: A Journalist's Search for the Heart of His Country

by Henry Grunwald

A wise, witty, and humane autobiography filled with a passionate curiosity about the people--and meaning--of America. One Man's America is at once a stirring account of a young immigrant becoming an American, a personal history of the major milestones of the late twentieth century, a fascinating insider's view of the most widely read news magazine in the world, and a warm and loving family saga. Here also is the remarkable success story of a boy driven from his native Vienna by the Nazis and returning years later as an ambassador; of a copy boy who rose to become editor of Time magazine.

During his long and distinguished career in journalism, Grunwald knew, befriended, and feuded with some of the greatest figures on the world stage, from Whitaker Chambers and Marilyn Monroe to John F. Kennedy and Henry Kissinger to Ronald Reagan and Fidel Castro. But the immense power his position allowed him was tempered by a fierce desire to know everything he could about the mores and folkways of the whole United States, Main Street bankers and student radicals alike, through whom he sought to understand the heart of his adopted country.

One Man's America is, above all, a hymn to the ever-turbulent, ever-changing land of America.

672 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1996

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I disagree with Goodreads members who panned this book for lack of direction. It’s a memoir, and an interesting one at that. If you really want a thesis, read the afterward first, though his MAGA nostalgia in those pages does not emerge much in the preceding 600 pages. From Hitler to Kissinger to Gorbachev, Grunwald was there with his eyes open. An editor by trade, he knows how to write, and he had his ear to the ground for a crucial half century.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

This lengthy memoir by the former editor-in-chief and managing editor of Time Magazine was a bit of a slog. Grunwald is a native of Austria and emigrated to the US to escape the Nazis. The most interesting sections of the book were those discussing his early life and family background. He had a long career at Time, but doesn't really discuss any inside journalism until the part of the book that discusses his promotion to managing editor. Much space is wasted on superficial recitations of events that occurred while he was at Time and his observations of presidents and others. The book improves when he discusses some issues that occurred when he was editor, particularly the Sharon libel trial. But there were many missed opportunities to engage the reader. For example, he discusses a Time correspondent who worked in Iran during the time of the 1979 revolution. The correspondent was in great personal danger and couldn't acknowledge publicly that he worked for Time. He was eventually captured by the Iranian government and placed in front of a firing squad which didn't shoot. Grunwald spends maybe a page on this story, foregoing the opportunity to discuss the dangers that journalists often face and their dedication to the free press.

For someone with so much journalistic experience, I thought that Grunwald had very little insight to offer regarding complicated political and social issues. He did find time to drop the names of many of his celebrity friends. Particularly excruciating was his worshipful discussion of his relationship with Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Grunwald claims to be politically independent, but his slobbering over the Reagans and his intemperate rant against the "welfare state" in the last chapter expose him as a right winger. Which is fine, except that he should admit it.

Reagan appointed Grunwald to be ambassadoer to Austria after he retired from Time and he managed to be in Europe during the fall of Communism. His descriptions and observations during that historic time are no more insightful than those of his career in journalism.

I usually am captivated by memoirs of journalists, but not this time. It's not a horrible book, but not particularly engaging.

[Gerry Durisin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plowing through half of its 650+ pages was more than enough. Memoirs of Jewish/Austrian immigrant who rose to top of Time Life empire. Too impersonal, no clear point of view, never fully captured my interest.