WITH HEROIC TRUTH: THE LIFE OF EDWARD R. MURROW, by Norman H. Finkelstein, Clarion Books, 175 pages, $17.95.
IN SEARCH OF LIGHT: THE BROADCASTS OF EDWARD R. MURROW 1938-1961, edited by Edward Bliss, Jr., Da Capo Press, 376 pages, $14.95.
With the aid of black and white photographs and Murrow’s own words, author Finkelstein presents a comprehensive look at the career of one of the pioneers of broadcast journalism. Finkelstein traces Murrow’s life from his first broadcast for CBS in 1936, through his famous reports from Europe during World War II–including his June 6, 1944, reading of General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s orders for the day that signaled the start of the Allied invasion of France–to his acceptance in 1961 of President John F. Kennedy’s offer to become director of the United States Information Agency and his retirement three years later. Editor Edward Bliss’s work provides selections from the more than 5,000 Murrow broadcasts, including an eyewitness report on Adolf Hitler’s 1938 seizure of Austria, and his commentary on Kennedy’s inaugural address in 1961.
