Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - Personal History

Personal  History
Personal History
Author: Katharine Graham
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 Was...  more », 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.
ISBN-13: 9780394585857
ISBN-10: 0394585852
Publication Date: 2/3/1997
Pages: 656
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 18

3.9 stars, based on 18 ratings
Publisher: Knopf
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Alohna avatar reviewed Personal History on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
I'm not usually a biography reader, but this was great. If you're old enough to remember Watergate, that part is fascinating, but the best bit is her progression from housewife to chairman of the Washington Post. She is humble, uncommon enough from someone with her background and eventual responsibilities. I found it inspiring and a good piece of contemporary history.
reviewed Personal History on + 24 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I really liked this book as a description of grown ups in the 70's; she accurately describes herself and every other mother in the 70's. Also, it is a very good description of how a woman was treated before and after "feminists." Her story is good, Watergate is only a teeny tiny part of the book, but it is a very good commentary on her generation.
reviewed Personal History on
Helpful Score: 3
This is a wonderful, engaging and interesting book. Katharine Graham tells her personal story with humor, insight and a very personal look at the important political changes and developments of the 1960's and 1970's. It is a fascinating read on some of the people at the center of the Watergate scandal.
Read All 22 Book Reviews of "Personal History"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

reviewed Personal History on + 77 more book reviews
This is a big read, but I loved it. We used to live in Northern Virginia, and the Washington Post was my favorite paper. No, I'm not liberal, but I loved it anyway. Fascinating look at a woman born into wealth, but didn't really get to choose her path in life. Fascinating look at behind the scenes at big newspapers, what really goes on. The stresses of running a large paper, management issues, strikes, guilds and unions, Watergate, Pentagon papers, an inside look at Warren Buffett and many famous leaders: it's all here. An awesome look at women's issues through the century. Katharine Graham's mother was perhaps most liberated of all for the times...very outspoken. I enjoyed the family history.
valeriemaha avatar reviewed Personal History on + 14 more book reviews
This is really an amazing book in so many ways, not the least of which is the politico-historical perspective. Though it's long, I found it entertaining and enlightening...a glimpse at a woman in her time.
reviewed Personal History on + 10 more book reviews
This book has a lot of interesting detail of history and famous people that the author shared her life around in the political & business realms. She was a role model for future women in business as she paved the road.
knut avatar reviewed Personal History on + 59 more book reviews
There have been many books written about the women who have taken on and made made changes in our society. Katherine Graham piolted the WASHINGTON POST thrugh the crises of Watergate and the Pentagon Papers. This personal history of her life and times reflect the culture of those years. Read this to know some of the challenges women have faced in journalism and the politcal arena.
glomper avatar reviewed Personal History on + 5 more book reviews
Although I have a lot of respect for Katharine Graham and her story, I found the book too long and cumbersome to read.
reviewed Personal History on + 16 more book reviews
For those of you that like memoirs, this is an excellent read. What life is like for a woman who has grown up in a very powerful family and lives to tell the tale.

Book Wiki

Original Publication Date (YYYY-MM-DD)

Genres: