Connie Chung is a pioneer. In 1969 at the age of 23, this once-shy daughter of Chinese parents took her first job at a local TV station in her hometown of Washington, D.C., and soon thereafter began working at CBS news as a correspondent. Profoundly influenced by her family's cultural traditions, yet growing up completely Americanized in the United States, Chung describes her career as an Asian woman in a white male-centered world. Overt sexism was a way of life, but Chung was tenacious in her pursuit of stories—battling rival reporters to secure scoops that ranged from interviewing Magic Johnson to covering the Watergate scandal—and quickly became a household name. Chung pulls no punches as she provides a behind-the-scenes tour of her singular life.
Entertaining and revealing ... Chung writes breezily and with irreverent humor about the scoops, the internal politics and the pure hustle that eventually got her to the top ... Persuasive.
Chung is a sharer; her candor is commendable and unvarnished ... In prose that is direct if sometimes too casual by half, Chung’s insecurity is on full display ... Chung’s writing about her upbringing and family life are fascinating, but those coming to this memoir more for some media gossip won’t be disappointed ... Chung’s memoir, often enchanting and enlightening, serves as a historical account of broadcast news during its most powerful, competitive and sometimes most absurd era.
Chung’s personal life is as dynamic as her professional experiences. A groundbreaker in the truest sense of the word, Chung is as delightful, forthright, and candid on the page as she is on air.
