Publishers Weekly
07/22/2024
Pioneering journalist Chung takes an entertaining look back at her career in this winning autobiography. Chung was born to Chinese immigrant parents in 1946 Washington, D.C., the youngest of 10 children, and much of the account traces her arc from shy, self-conscious girl to take-no-prisoners professional who “wanted to be the equal” of her swaggering male peers. She first decided to become a journalist in the late 1960s, after an internship with New York congressman Seymour Halpern exposed her to “the pulsebeat of news events affecting the actions of politicians and Americans’ lives.” In chatty prose, she charts her professional rise, including her stint as an anchor on local network news in 1976 L.A. Things get juicy in passages covering the 1990s, where she rehashes her tense tenure co-anchoring CBS Evening News with Dan Rather (“an old-fashioned guy who feels women should not get their hands soiled”) and her front-row seat to Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer’s feuding at ABC. Chung balances these gossipy recollections with the heartbreak of trying to conceive through IVF with her husband, Maury Povich, and clear-eyed musings on the odds against women in the workplace. It’s an intimate and rewarding personal history. Agent: Matt Latimer, Javelin. (Sept.)Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly stated that Chung was the first Asian anchor on local news in L.A.
From the Publisher
A groundbreaker in the truest sense of the word, Chung is as delightful, forthright, and candid on the page as she is on air.”—Booklist
"An irreverent, inspiring chronicle of a great life."—Kirkus, starred review
“This delightful memoir is filled with Connie Chung’s trademark wit, sharp insights, and deep understanding of people. It’s a revealing account of what it’s like to be a woman breaking barriers in the world of TV news, filled with colorful tales of rivalry and triumph. But it also has a larger theme: how the line between serious reporting and tabloid journalism became blurred.”—Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author
“For generations of Asian Americans, Connie Chung will always be our superhero. Someone who looked like us who, on a national stage, held our most important political leaders accountable. She was bold, aggressive, and unafraid. So many of us pursued broadcast journalism because she singularly showed us it was possible. I didn’t think I could respect her any more than I already do, but this most candid account of her journey reminds us that Connie Chung is nothing short of a true American icon.”—Lisa Ling, journalist
“We’ve been close friends ever since we were hired at CBS in the ’70s. Yet her memoir, that sparks with raw candor, unveils much about her life I never knew. My friend is one of the funniest people I know. So no surprise her story is told with great humor. Also with humility and wisdom. I laughed and teared up.”—Lesley Stahl, journalist and New York Times bestselling author
“Connie Chung’s extraordinary life has become an extraordinary memoir, by turns poignant and hilarious about the price she paid and the legacy she forged as a groundbreaking journalist—including among a generation of Asian girls. Many of them named, yes, Connie.”—Susan Page, New York Times bestselling author of The Rulebreaker and Madam Speaker
“Following in the footsteps of her hero Walter Cronkite, Connie became the trusted voice of reason, whose calling card was professional integrity. A sharply written and scintillating memoir. Highly recommended!”—Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author of Silent Spring Revolution and Cronkite
