Personal History

A Memoir

By: Katharine Graham

Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie

Length: 30 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PULTIZER PRIZE WINNER • The captivating inside story of the woman who helmed the Washington Post during one of the most turbulent periods in the history of American media: the scandals of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate

In this widely acclaimed memoir ("Riveting, moving...a wonderful book" The New York Times Book Review), Katharine Graham tells her story—one that is extraordinary both for the events it encompasses and for the courage, candor, and dignity of its telling.

Here is the awkward child who grew up amid material wealth and emotional isolation; the young bride who watched her brilliant, charismatic husband—a confidant to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson—plunge into the mental illness that would culminate in his suicide. And here is the widow who shook off her grief and insecurity to take on a president and a pressman’s union as she entered the profane boys’ club of the newspaper business.

As timely now as ever, Personal History is an exemplary record of our history and of the woman who played such a shaping role within them, discovering her own strength and sense of self as she confronted—and mastered—the personal and professional crises of her fascinating life.

©2017 Katharine Graham (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Riveting, moving . . . a wonderful book." --Nora Ephron, The New York Times Book Review

"Disarmingly candid and immensely readable." --Time

"Captivating . . . distinguished by a level of introspection that ought to be, but rarely is, the touchstone of autobiography." --Newsday

Fantastic book! An inspiration for others

I strongly recommend the reading of this book, it has many lessons to learn from.

Ignore the naysayers!

I can think of a dozen reasons why this book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for Biography. Not only is it exquisitely well written but Graham is uncommonly candid about what it was like to grow up in the shadow of wealth and fame, only to assume much of the responsibility later in life. While I'm sure there are letters that have been saved as a resource, her memory of incidents--both large and small--is remarkable. I purchased the audio version after watching the film in which Meryl Streep plays the role of Graham, wanting to know more. So glad I did. The narrator does a wonderful job, in my opinion--though others have found her boring. To each his (or her) own. Kay Graham paved the way for many of us in the corporate world. I'm grateful.

21 years after reading it for the first time…

It still is the best biography I have ever read…
Warren Buffet and Ben Bradley bios complement this one…

Thoroughly enjoyable listening

K's family's wealth is hard to imagine. Reading this in 2018 made me wince many times a her own stereotypical comments about women, even though she is fully aware of the unfairness of stereotypes. I also believe Martin Luther king is only mentioned once in one sentence. How she could not spend more time on the civil rights revolution that occurred during her time is very telling about her exposure to the community of Washington DC in which she lived. She was a highly out of touch elitist, but she did have an interesting story to tell.

A great piece of history and well told!

So well written with absorbing details of what she was feeling and thinking as Kay Graham was living and influencing US history at its core in DC.

Direct and honest

There's a reason why this book won a Pulitzer. Katharine Graham's story is written in clear and refreshingly honest prose. Even after 30 hours, I was sad for this book to be over, as it was tremendously enjoyable to spend time with Kay Graham.

The best history lesson ever!!!

Amazing how much is revealed about a family more important to read about and remember than the Vanderbilt documentary!
Loving this story more than I ever imagined.

Interesting Times Through the Eyes of an Intelligent Participant

I loved listening to this book. I watched Watergate on TV in the seventies. This view of that time through the eyes of a professional “observer” took me back.

Great book!

A beautifully written and well spoken book. The detail was neither overwhelming or underselling and there a great sense of self throughout. You can feel her underlying anxiety and insecurities yet also see how she chooses to rise above those characteristics- leaning on those around her in daily life and by demonstrating powerful moves of integral will when desive actions had to be made

Excellent from Start to Finish

Before purchasing this book I noticed that occasional reviews stated that they prefer the abridged edition. That was not the case for me. Everything that Katherine Graham was and aspired to be was born out of her past. Without knowing her background prior to where the abridged edition starts would have made the book far less interesting for me. I highly recommend the unabridged edition for that reason.