Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Villard (1990), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 308 pages
Description
"Lewis Grizzard is one of America's zaniest writers." THE ORLANDO SENTINEL Funny, sad, outrageous, irresistible, and unforgettably true, here is Lewis Grizzard's one-way, non-stop climb to the top of the newspaper heap. Of course, along the way, he drove a train and was a preacher, but the one and only life for this self-proclaimed Promising Young Man from Georgia was that of the ink-stained, stop-the-presses, honest-to-gosh newspaperman. This is his story.
User reviews
LibraryThing member eurohackie
Grizzard's 13th book is a love letter to a profession that no longer exists - old school (1960s) newspaperman. His passion for the way newspapers used to be put together is patently obvious from the loving way he writes - and digresses - about it here. He was certainly a lucky person who set his
In a lot of ways, it seems like his early luck turned out to be anything but in the long run. He made an ill-fated decision to move to Chicago to take over the Sun-Times sports section, and the only way he could get out of there was to give up editing and become a columnist. It's quite sad to read the end of this book, when he realizes that he has to give up his passion to save his sanity. Lucky for him, though, that his column worked out as well as it did for him, giving him the chance to have a second career as a humorist.
This book is narrative but it is FULL of digressions and meanderings away from his point, so if that style bothers you, give this one a pass. The first chapter is also awful - most of it can be skipped without anything of value being lost. I find Mr Grizzard's style impulsively readable, and both funny and poignant. He owns (most of) his mistakes, as he does with his other narrative books. Some things still hold up, while others are cringe-worthy.
After reading this book, I don't think he would've taken the transition to modern day newspapering well at all - he had enough trouble with the twenty-so years covered in the book. It's way too different now, 50 years later.
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career path early and shot up the ladder with impressive speed.In a lot of ways, it seems like his early luck turned out to be anything but in the long run. He made an ill-fated decision to move to Chicago to take over the Sun-Times sports section, and the only way he could get out of there was to give up editing and become a columnist. It's quite sad to read the end of this book, when he realizes that he has to give up his passion to save his sanity. Lucky for him, though, that his column worked out as well as it did for him, giving him the chance to have a second career as a humorist.
This book is narrative but it is FULL of digressions and meanderings away from his point, so if that style bothers you, give this one a pass. The first chapter is also awful - most of it can be skipped without anything of value being lost. I find Mr Grizzard's style impulsively readable, and both funny and poignant. He owns (most of) his mistakes, as he does with his other narrative books. Some things still hold up, while others are cringe-worthy.
After reading this book, I don't think he would've taken the transition to modern day newspapering well at all - he had enough trouble with the twenty-so years covered in the book. It's way too different now, 50 years later.
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1990
Physical description
308 p.; 8.1 inches
ISBN
0394587251 / 9780394587257