Newspaper Days: Mencken's Autobiography: 1899-1906 (Volume two of Menchen's Autobiography) (Volume 2) - Softcover

Mencken, H. L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801853400 ISBN 13: 9780801853401

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996

Synopsis

In the second volume of his autobiography, Mencken recalls his early years as a reporter. On January 16, 1899, H.L. Mencken applied for a job with the Baltimore Morning Herald, much to the editor's amusement. But Mencken persisted, and came back to the offices night after night until finally, in February, the editor sent him out into a blizzard to see if anything worth printing was happening on the snow-covered streets. Soon, Mencken was assigned to the police beat, and then to city hall, where the really big crooks worked.

Mencken learned his craft so well that by 1901 he became the Herald 's Sunday editor, and by 1906 was hired as an editor of the Baltimore Sun, where he quickly attracted a national following. Sustained by a steady diet of crabs, cigars, whiskey, and beer, he haunted Baltimore's jails and courtrooms, its churches, theaters, and saloons, and chased fire wagons, interviewed cops and coroners, battled politicians and crusaders, and raced back to the newsroom to beat his deadline by a second or two.

About this title

Book Description

In the third volume of his autobiography, H. L. Mencken covers a range of subjects, from Hoggie Unglebower, the best dog trainer in Christendom, to his visit to the Holy Land, where he looked for the ruins of Gomorrah.

About the Author

H. L. Mencken was born in Baltimore in 1880 and remained a lifelong resident. Opinionated and controversial, his column for the Baltimore Sun earned him a national reputation. He died in 1956.

About this edition

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0801853400
• ISBN 13: 9780801853401
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336