Remembering David Halberstam

I've loved history for as long as I remember. My second grade teacher once told me not to bother trying to read the books I would always bring back from the library. Being as obstinate then as now, I would ignore that advice and plow through presidential biographies meant for middle-schoolers.

By high school, I was a full-fledged geek, spending weekends reading Arthur Schlesinger's adoring reviews of Camelot and David Halberstam's reporting on everything from Vietnam to GM.

Today, Schlesinger and Halberstam had their own life stories recounted by the New York Times. Unfortunately, Halberstam's life story was summarized in an obituary.

Halberstam, a former obit writer for the Tennessean, said he learned early on just how important getting the facts right in an obituary was. The Pulitzer prize-winning writer said for many, it would be the only time their names would make the newspaper. For grieving relatives, even the slightest mistake could cause great emotional pain.

I suppose Halberstam would have given an approving nod to the Times' summary of his life. Got the info in about the Pulitzer prize. Touched on how he warned of the coming meltdown in Vietnam. And praised him as a prolific and versatile author.

The life summary may have been factually accurate but it still seemed incomplete.

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Reading David Halberstam was coming in contact with reporting at its best. He would throw himself entirely into a story and then take his readers on journey around the world-- whether that story took him to Vietnam or Detroit.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

Twenty-five years later, my outlook on the U.S. economy is shaped by lessons I learned in "The Reckoning." And politicians of all stripes would have done well to read "The Best and the Brightest" before sending Americans to Iraq.

When will they ever learn? Maybe when they look more closely at the works of courageous reporters like David Halberstam.