David Halberstam

Was reading some commentary in reaction to this posting by Kevin Drum:

January 24, 2008

WHAM! BOOM!....Did Barack Obama have a "testy" exchange with a reporter on Tuesday? No. Did Hillary Clinton almost let loose with a "Dean scream" on Wednesday? No. Do reporters routinely inflate minor campaign trail incidents in an effort inject color and conflict into their coverage? Yes indeed. The lesson of the day is: Always remember to take conflict stories with a great big shaker of salt until you see the video, the full exchange, or corroborating testimony yourself. There will be a quiz tomorrow.

—Kevin Drum 3:14 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (28)

when I came across this suggestion to read David Halberstam's last book, The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War. You remember, he died last April 24th in an automobile accident at the age of 73. I remembered that I had meant to put that on a list of must reads since Halberstam is one of my all time favorite authors but then promptly forgot. Not today though. I immediately called Mary at the Loogootee Public Library (great place!) and had her oder the book for me. She is doing just that which is just great. Then I went back and read some of the commentary on the book at amazon.com and found this really touching remembrance of Halberstam by Anna Quindlen. To quote just some of it but do go read the whole thing; Halberstam was apparently not only a very good writer but also a very good human being. From the remembrance:

Much has been made of the fact that he was on one last reporting trip when he died. But he was also on one of his patented David-Halberstam-explains-it-all-to-you tours. I got an email from a woman who heard him speak at Berkeley on that trip. She wrote: "I wasn't prepared for the degree of grace and kindness he exhibited. He would listen intently as the question-cum-statement rolled on, then pause, take an extra step, and deliver, in its brevity and precision, the most generous response possible. I just couldn't help smiling while saying to myself--Mary K, remember this lesson in human kindness and practice it."

And another note: The tone of the comments at The Washington Monthly, Kevin Drum's blog, is so much more humane that it is at dkos and tpm. Bicker, bicker, bicker - gets old real fast. Digby at Hullabaloo must of felt the same way the other day when she had everybody take a breather and shut down the comments section. In the end, a hat tip to 'cleve' who took the time to suggest a good read by a good writer and a good man.