Book Review: Personal History by Katharine Graham

I haven’t done a book review for a while, but having just finished Personal History by Katharine Graham I felt as though I should.

This book is amazing. Katharine Graham is amazing. I was captivated by her story and, although I came into the book knowing something of her life, what I discovered as I worked my way through the pages was a strong, brave, modest and kind woman who lived through some extraordinary events and took them all in her stride.

I appreciate that most people won’t have any idea who she is, so let’s begin with the basics. Katharine Graham was the publisher of the Washington Post. The newspaper was purchased by her father, passed to her husband Phil and eventually came to her after Phil committed suicide.

The way in which she dealt with having all of that responsibility placed upon her in the midst of the most distressing personal tragedy really touched me. And then, reading this in 2018, you have to remember that all of this happened in the 1960s when women didn’t hold positions of power within business or the newspaper industry. To take that on, let alone sustain it and be successful, is impressive. She really was a remarkable woman.

Anyone who knows me will know that one of my favourite films and books is All The President’s Men, which is about the Watergate Scandal. Discovering that film and subsequently reading the book while studying journalism at university is how I first heard of Katharine Graham.

But it wasn’t until the film The Post came out earlier this year that I remembered her autobiography had been on my reading list for ages. The Post, incidentally, is an excellent film that deals with the Pentagon Papers, one of the defining incidents in US journalism.

I started reading Personal History in March and finished it this week. I didn’t want her story to stop though. As I turned the pages I grew increasingly attached to Katharine and her world. I followed her fascinating family history, and then worked my way through the years of the Pentagon Papers, Watergate and the pressmen’s strike.

At times I found her honesty disarming and I admire how much she was willing to share in some instances. I’m sure there were countless stories that didn’t make it into the pages of her book that would have been equally worthy inclusions.

I’ve always found investigative journalism fascinating, which is no doubt the main reason I was attracted to this book, but I got so much more than I’d imagined from reading it.

It’s not a short, or quick, read, but it is worth the effort, especially if you have any level of interest either in journalism or business. I’m sure it’s a book that I’ll return to in the future.

Personal History: A fascinating read