David Halberstam: Journalist/Historian Extraordinaire
I previously identified David Halberstam’s Vietnam War masterpiece The Best and the Brightest as one of my favourite books on political and military history. Mr Halberstam was not a one shot wonder. He authored an astonishing number of classics over a 45 year career. He was ambitious and tackled major topics, including foreign policy, media, race, culture, wars, civil rights and sports. He demonstrated amazing versatility. He was a contemporary version of a Renaissance Man. He had enormous curiosity and an exhausting range of interests. He was fearless and spoke truth to power. He attacked major cultural issues: corruption, institutional failures, the pursuit of excellence and and the inevitable human embrace of moral compromise. His technique was consistent, irrespective of subject matter. Deep research, unrelenting reporting and sourcing, extensive interviews and an eye for detail and nuance. He was true craftsman who dramatised the importance of individual agency. He focused on the accumulation, exercise and abuse of power and how individuals shaped and were shaped by historical forces.
He loved sports and wrote passionately about athletes and competition. Sports writing was not a breather for him- time away from his “serious" journalistic efforts. For Halberstam, sports were not a pleasant and entertaining diversion, but a dynamic expression of America itself. Sports is not a sideshow. He frequently opined that sports were a revealing mirror on American values and that major sports figures were just as interesting and complex as politicians, media moguls and corporate chieftains. He excelled at spinning compelling narratives accompanied by rigorous analysis and hard nosed moral judgments. From my perspective, he is the most compelling journalist of his generation and a “must read.” I always purchased his newest book immediately after release. He never disappointed and I learned a ton.
Halberstam tragically died in an automobile accident in 2007. He was on his way to an interview with Y.A. Tittle, a former New York Giants quarterback. An NFL book was in the works. Fortunately, he received formal recognition in his lifetime and many of his works populate the reading lists in college curriculums today. He won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1964 and The Best and Brightest was a finalist for the National Book Award. His civil right study, The Children won the Robert F Kennedy Book Award. His chronicle The Fifties was awarded the Society of American Historian Prize. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame for his basketball writings. His best books - all read by your truly- are listed below.
1. THE BREAKS OF THE GAME
For my money, the best basketball book ever written,. It covers the 1979-1980 Portland Trailblazers NBA season. They had won the championship in 1977 and were pursuing a dynasty. It fell apart because of injuries and organisational dysfunction. Halberstam goes well beyond recounting games, scores and statistics. We get deep dives on the colourful Bill Walton, the fiery Maurice Lucas and the brainy coach Jack Ramsay. He explores the dynamics of a predominantly black sport being marketed to affluent white audiences. He is masterful on the psychological toll associated with maintaining a level of excellence while navigating the tension between individual stardom and team cohesion. He is unsparing on the economics of the sport and the battle between the owners and the players over the pie. He discloses major and inequitable salary disparities between star white and black players. His best insight is his succinct description of the NBA owners. He compares them to his experiences with dictators, southern sheriffs, gangsters and remarked “The NBA owners congregated in a conference room for a league meeting was the most concentrated group of assholes he had ever witnessed in action.” Touche David!!
2. THE AMATEURS
A tight and illuminating study of an obscure sport- Rowing. The story of four young men seeking Olympic glory. There is no financial reward at the end of the rainbow. It is simply the pursuit of personal excellence. The characters are brave, even obsessed and almost immune to physical pain. Halberstam’s observations are absolutely penetrating.
3. SUMMER OF '49
A page turner on the thrilling pennant race between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees in the immediate post WWII America. Superstars Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio facing off and pursuing history. A wonderful summary of the cultural importance of baseball in the pre TV and mass media age. The dynamic of the rivalry- its inherent imbalance because the Yankees always prevailed and the Red Sox and their fans were regularly crushed by reality. It builds tension effectively as the pennant race isn’t decided until the final day of the season. A very good book.
4. OCTOBER 1964
This is my favourite Halberstam baseball book. The Yankees and St Louis Cardinals are the 1964 season league champions battling in the World Series. Halberstam persuasively argues the Series is a formal changing of the guard in the baseball power structure. The Cardinals are on the rise and are led by emerging black superstars Bob Gibson, Bill White, Curt Flood and Lou Brock. Gibson is an awesome character- the most fearsome competitor in sports. The only fair comparison is Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics. Talented and menacing- feared and respected by all. A new role model for black athletes. Bye Bye to the soft accommodation and eternal patience of Jackie Robinson. The Cardinals embraced the black players and the teams were super fast and aggressive. The superpower Yankees were in decline. 1964 would be their last Series appearance until 1977. Their older star players, Ford and Mantle were breaking down physically and the Yankees had been one of the last teams to sign outstanding black players. They missed the wave of change. First rate in all respects.
5. PLAYING FOR KEEPS
Halberstam’s ambitious effort to explain the Michael Jordan phenomenon. A gifted athlete who learned to adjust his approach for team success. Jordan is scary. A driven and über focused person. He didn’t tolerate the shortcomings of his teammates particularly well. An impressive guy, but a hard one. I thought of Halberstam’s prose when watching “The Last Dance” documentary on the Bulls. The Jordan on screen is the Jordan beaming out from the pages of this book. It also attempts to show the impact of ESPN and media on salaries. The social history of the NBA and its relationship to American society in general was less interesting than his drill down on Jordan’s character and personality.
6. THE TEAMMATES
A heartwarming story of a 60 year friendship between four Boston Red Sox stars- Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr and Dom DiMaggio. Very poignant as Williams' health declines and the support and love he received from his ballplayer buddies.
7. THE EDUCATION OF A COACH
An insightful profile of legendary NFL Coach Bill Belichick. His subject is the greatest coach in history and a very odd guy. The book humanises him. His father was lifelong coach and scout and Belichick was trained to think like a coach from a very early age. He wasn’t a particularly talented athlete, but his work ethic and single mindedness are numbing. The quirks are on full display- the secrecy and the mumbling mode of communication. BUT he is a leader and the commitment to perfection and winning is overwhelming. Halberstam again supplements the biography angle with a big picture overview of the NFL and how it has dramatically evolved over the years. This aspect seemed a bit rushed and forced to me, but a worthwhile read nevertheless.
8. THE POWERS THAT BE
An exhaustive study of 4 major American media empires: CBS, TIME, THE WASHINGTON POST and THE LA TIMES. Halberstam worked as journalist and is clearly comfortable with the inside politics at these mainstream and powerful print and TV platforms. It is almost exhausting in its depth and it was hard work at times. He needed a more aggressive editor. His personal profiles of the moguls running these operations is the strongest component of the book William Paley at CBS, Henry Luce at TIME, the Grahams at the Post and Norman Chandler at the LA Times. Big personalities and lovers of power. The media has more power than our elected leaders. They frequently drove the public agenda and debate. They all loved money. Paley is brilliant and flawed. Katherine Graham is insecure but responsible. Luce is a demonic ego maniac. Chandler is a sharp elbowed monster with no scruples. The risks associated with concentrated power and irresponsible leadership is loud and clear. This book may not have the staying power of some of the other works because the media industry has changed so drastically in the last 20 years.
9. THE RECKONING
A sobering examination of the American auto industry as it faced existential competition from Japan. Micro analysis of catastrophic decisions at Ford and impressive engineering and marketing by Nissan. Again, a bit dated. The auto industry has evolved, is ultra competitive, but Halberstam’s suggestion that the American auto business is doomed was overkill.
10. THE 50’S
A great book. He dissects an entire decade and provides a fresh historical perspective. His argument is that the conventional wisdoms on the 50’s- that it was boring, conventional, overrun by suburban sprawl occupied by organisation men in suits with stay at homes wives is wide of the mark. He is very persuasive that the 50’s were super significant. He catalogs the Cold War, the H bomb, Korea, the early stirrings of the Civil Rights movement, the Brown desegregation Supreme court decision, the birth control pill, the nascent feminist movement, McDonald’s, Holiday Inn, sexual awakenings, Brando, Dean, Presley, Kerouac and Ginsberg. The 60’s were more tumultuous but the seeds were all planted in the 50s. Kudos to Mr Halberstam- magisterial in scope and precise in execution.
11. THE CHILDREN
After returning from Vietnam, Mr Halberstam reported from Nashville on the early stages of the Civil Rights movement. He was moved by the idealism and courage of the young African Americans protesting thru lunch counter sit ins and provocative and dangerous Freedom Rider bus trips in the Deep south. He researched and wrote the ultimate book on this era 30 years later. It is outstanding. His portrayals of John Lewis, Diane Nash (incredible woman), James Bevel and Andrew Young are lively and respectful. They are heroes in the civil rights pantheon and Halberstam’s book ensures their courage and faith will not be forgotten.
12. THE COLDEST WINTER
The Korean War (1950-1953) is lost in the mists of history. Halberstam thought it was disgraceful that American journalists and historians had never published a top to bottom analyses of the conflict. 50,000 American troops lost their lives on the Korean peninsula. It was our first military encounter with troops from Communist China and our early exchanges with Mao’s troops did not go well. Truman eventually fired General MacArthur for insubordination. A prickly ceasefire has lasted for 75 years and the US maintains a significant military presence. South Korea has boomed economically and culturally and North Korea is a prison operating at a Dark Ages level. Unfortunately, they possess nuclear weapons. The book is very good at analysing the thinking of Truman and Acheson and MacArthur’s bombastic personality jumps off the pages. He also brilliantly highlights the courage of line officers and general infantry. You admire the troops. The Korean experience was forerunner to Vietnam. Different conflicts with different causes, but painful casualties in both wars. A very solid effort, although the narrative falls short of Best and Brightest power and clarity .
There is not a loser in the bunch. If your time or reading capacity is limited, read Breaks of the Game and October 1964 for your sports fix and The Children and The Fifties for the scholarly silo in your brain.
