From The Maryland Book Bank, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A. Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
AbeBooks Seller since September 1, 2010
The corners are slightly bent. Used - Good. Seller Inventory # 3-RR-2-0096
An extraordinarily frank, honest, and generous book by one of America's most famous and admired women -- a book that is, as its title suggests, composed of both personal memoir and history.
It is the story of Graham's parents: the multimillionaire father who left private business and government service to buy and restore the down-and-out Washington Post, and the formidable, self-absorbed mother who was more interested in her political and charity work, and her passionate friendships with men like Thomas Mann and Adlai Stevenson, than in her children.
It is the story of how The Washington Post struggled to succeed -- a fascinating and instructive business history as told from the inside (the paper has been run by Graham herself, her father, her husband, and now her son).
It is the story of Phil Graham -- Kay's brilliant, charismatic husband (he clerked for two Supreme Court justices) -- whose plunge into manic-depression, betrayal, and eventual suicide is movingly and charitably recounted.
Best of all, it is the story of Kay Graham herself. She was brought up in a family of great wealth, yet she learned and understood nothing about money. She is half-Jewish, yet -- incredibly -- remained unaware of it for many years.She describes herself as having been naive and awkward, yet intelligent and energetic. She married a man she worshipped, and he fascinated and educated her, and then, in his illness, turned from her and abused her. This destruction of her confidence and happiness is a drama in itself, followed by the even more intense drama of her new life as the head of a great newspaper and a great company, a famous (and even feared) woman in her own right. Hers is a life that came into its own with a vengeance -- a success story on every level.
Graham's book is populated with a cast of fascinating characters, from fifty years of presidents (and their wives), to Steichen, Brancusi, Felix Frankfurter, Warren Buffett (her great advisor and protector), Robert McNamara, George Schultz (her regular tennis partner), and, of course, the great names from the Post: Woodward, Bernstein, and Graham's editor/partner, Ben Bradlee. She writes of them, and of the most dramatic moments of her stewardship of the Post (including the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, and the pressmen's strike), with acuity, humor, and good judgment. Her book is about learning by doing, about growing and growing up, about Washington, and about a woman liberated by both circumstance and her own great strengths.
Review: In lieu of an unrevealing Famous-People-I-Have-Known autobiography, the owner of the Washington Post has chosen to be remarkably candid about the insecurities prompted by remote parents and a difficult marriage to the charismatic, manic-depressive Phil Graham, who ran the newspaper her father acquired. Katharine's account of her years as subservient daughter and wife is so painful that by the time she finally asserts herself at the Post following Phil's suicide in 1963 (more than halfway through the book), readers will want to cheer. After that, Watergate is practically an anticlimax.
Title: Personal History
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Publication Date: 1997
Binding: hardcover
Condition: Good
Edition: First Edition.
Seller: Magers and Quinn Booksellers, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st. May have light to moderate shelf wear and/or a remainder mark. Complete. Clean pages. Seller Inventory # 780072
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. 1st ed. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP64727381
Quantity: Over 20 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. 1st ed. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP64875092
Quantity: 7 available
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. 1st ed. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP64727381
Quantity: 7 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. 1st ed. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # GRP65555045
Quantity: 14 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. 1st ed. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 11501748-6
Quantity: 6 available
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. 1st ed. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # GRP65555045
Quantity: 5 available
Seller: Ergodebooks, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. First Edition. An extraordinarily frank, honest, and generous book by one of America's most famous and admired women -- a book that is, as its title suggests, composed of both personal memoir and history.It is the story of Graham's parents: the multimillionaire father who left private business and government service to buy and restore the down-and-out Washington Post, and the formidable, self-absorbed mother who was more interested in her political and charity work, and her passionate friendships with men like Thomas Mann and Adlai Stevenson, than in her children.It is the story of how The Washington Post struggled to succeed -- a fascinating and instructive business history as told from the inside (the paper has been run by Graham herself, her father, her husband, and now her son).It is the story of Phil Graham -- Kay's brilliant, charismatic husband (he clerked for two Supreme Court justices) -- whose plunge into manic-depression, betrayal, and eventual suicide is movingly and charitably recounted.Best of all, it is the story of Kay Graham herself. She was brought up in a family of great wealth, yet she learned and understood nothing about money. She is half-Jewish, yet -- incredibly -- remained unaware of it for many years.She describes herself as having been naive and awkward, yet intelligent and energetic. She married a man she worshipped, and he fascinated and educated her, and then, in his illness, turned from her and abused her. This destruction of her confidence and happiness is a drama in itself, followed by the even more intense drama of her new life as the head of a great newspaper and a great company, a famous (and even feared) woman in her own right. Hers is a life that came into its own with a vengeance -- a success story on every level.Graham's book is populated with a cast of fascinating characters, from fifty years of presidents (and their wives), to Steichen, Brancusi, Felix Frankfurter, Warren Buffett (her great advisor and protector), Robert McNamara, George Schultz (her regular tennis partner), and, of course, the great names from the Post: Woodward, Bernstein, and Graham's editor/partner, Ben Bradlee. She writes of them, and of the most dramatic moments of her stewardship of the Post (including the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, and the pressmen's strike), with acuity, humor, and good judgment. Her book is about learning by doing, about growing and growing up, about Washington, and about a woman liberated by both circumstance and her own great strengths. Seller Inventory # SONG0394585852
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Craig Olson Books, ABAA/ILAB, Belfast, ME, U.S.A.
Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Fifth Printing. ix, 642 pp. 8vo. Light wear and scuffing to dust jacket, crease at spine. Small red remainder mark at head of text block. Clean within. Seller Inventory # 20011
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Kenneth A. Himber, Lebanon, NJ, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Almost Like New. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good +. First Edition, Fourth Printing. (First Edition, Fourth Printing) Book is a clean tight unmarked copy. Personal message on title page. Seller Inventory # 002563
Quantity: 1 available