From the former executive editor of The Washington Postcomes a memoir: how he took over the legendary newspaper just as Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos were beginning their epic feud.
Because Baron had published no previous books and hardly any articles, I had no idea of what kind of writer he would be. Editing and writing are related but separate skills, like directing and acting. Baron turns out to be good at both ... Offers something scarcer and far more interesting than most arguments over theory, which is a vivid and detailed chronology of how his part of the press actually did its job ... The barbed portraits along the way keep the book lively. I’ll leave them for readers to discover, and I’m sure some of those criticized will respond ... As the book ends, Joe Biden is being sworn in as president, and Marty Baron steps aside as an editor, presumably to his next role as a writer. This book is an excellent start.
Media junkies will find both books indispensable. But like Robert Caro’s biographies, they should appeal to anyone interested in power: how it operates, and how it is lost ... Tells us little about Baron’s life and career prior to the Post. Nevertheless, the book is revealing of the man.
