Whirlwind, livre audio

Audio Book: Winner of the International Association of Audio Information Services Program of the Year in the Book category

Starting with his coverage of the largest tornado in Kansas history, legendary correspondent, anchorman, and producer Bill Kurtis details his whirlwind career reporting American history as it unfolded, from the Chicago Seven to Charles Manson to Agent Orange. A fast-paced, entertaining, and inspiring story about the potent combination of talent and luck in the network era of television.

From his beginnings as a kid from Kansas working at local radio and television stations to pay for college and law school, Bill Kurtis had a hunger for telling stories and finding the truth. With passion, skill, and just the right amount of luck, Kurtis’s reporting of the infamous Topeka Tornado of 1966 launched him into a whirlwind career in broadcast journalism. Only four years later, after passing the Kansas bar exam, Kurtis had already reported four of the largest trials of the twentieth century: Richard Speck, the Chicago Seven, Charles Manson, and Angela Davis.

During his career as a West Coast correspondent for Cronkite’s CBS Evening News, anchorman and foreign correspondent at the revolutionary local newsroom at WBBM-TV Chicago, co-anchor with Diane Sawyer at CBS Morning News, and beyond, Kurtis brought history to the American people in real time.

Recounting moments in his remarkable career as a television journalist, Kurtis brings us into some of the most iconic moments of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. He was in the streets during the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago; he uncovered the truth about the deadly effects of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War; he was the first US television journalist to return to Chernobyl after the infamous nuclear disaster; and much more. Kurtis also offers an insider look at how television evolved from an emerging news source to the dominating force in American media.

A natural storyteller, Kurtis remembers his career with honesty and insight and gives a rare picture of American history and broadcast journalism.

Preface: The Whirlwind

1. The Topeka Tornado

2. Learning Lessons and Chasing Dreams

3. Finding My Way

4. Richard Speck

5. Chicago on Fire

6. Four Days in August

7. Tokyo Rose

8. The Trial of the Chicago Seven

9. Charles Manson

10. Earthquake

11. Angela Davis

12. Juan Corona

13. A New Kind of News

14. The Last Days of Vietnam

15. The Phone Call

16. The Massacre

17. Saving a Life

18. Agent Orange

19. American Faces

20. CBS Morning News

21. The Golden Leaf

22. The Plane That Fell from the Sky

23. Muhammad Ali

24. Back to Chernobyl

25. The Anchorman

26. Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!

27. The Journey Continues

Acknowledgments

About the Author