Robert M. Smith (the Author) was a reporter for the New York Times in the 1960's and early 70's. In this book he covers his various exploits while working there along with an inside look of why a paper or editor will print, not print or manipulate a story in the paper all under the guise to keep favor with confidential sources and why this is a sham when they should just report unbiased news just the news. I had concerns with how factual this book would be as you really cannot find much about this author on the internet. The articles in 2009 and 2014 talk about Mr. Smith's claim that he was the first to break the Watergate story. There are only two people that really no if this is indeed fact. The author does make sure to cover the articles mentioned on the internet in his book and I will give him props for that. Whether you believe the author or not he makes some compelling arguments and does a good job putting this book together.

Wow! What an incredible career outlined in this book. I especially related to the connections with Boston, having lived there myself. I found the author to have a humorous wit that made me smile. There is no lack of interesting events or intrigue related to the author’s life story. However, the book reads in a very matter-of-fact, textbook capacity. The author might laugh at my comparison to feeling that this was written like a war correspondents life story. At times, it fell a bit flat and the tone was a bit dry.

I would recommend the book for those interested in careers in journalism.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Super interesting look into what makes it to the news cycle and what stays behind closed doors. In the instance of Watergate, there was so much behind the scenes that we never saw. This book really uncovers what goes on in the news industry.