Personal History

Katharine Graham's book is a useful study of life in Washington and the Washington Post. This is a very nice audio version of the book. For those who haven't the time to read, or have vision limitations, this is a very good substitute for the book.

this woman.....born in wealth, married to ambition, then as a widow with a tremendous amount of resources at her disposal, did some great things. but her utter lack of confidence, her almost morbidly low sense of self-esteem drags down the whole book.

if you're a feminist, this is going to irritate you, i promise. there are plenty of other women, who faced much higher obstacles, who overcame the sexism of their times & changed the world. 'kate' seems to apologize for her own existence, almost up to the day she died.

This book is incredibly well written and interesting. I am not someone who read a lot of nonfiction but I was enthralled with her story. Loved it! I have recommended it to all of my friends and family.

This is a great book about a great woman! Interesting to see how even the privileged have difficult experiences in life and how it all only depend on us. We are very capable of achieving our goals and this book shows that even though it might not be easy, in the end, it can be very rewarding. This book shows a great insight in the history of newspaper business and politics.

Interesting to read the evolution of a family, of media, of American and world politics and of women in business. Each evolution is worth reading in its own right, and weaving them together makes this book a page turner

I have read this twice now. An incredible read of so much history. She is such a fascinating person. Walking through her life is like walking through the 20th century with all the key moments. It amazes me how many people she crossed paths with.

I have read this twice now. An incredible read of so much history. She is such a fascinating person. Walking through her life is like walking through the 20th century with all the key moments. It amazes me how many people she crossed paths with.

A detailed, amazing journey in the voice of one of the first women CEO’s at a time in history when women were still mostly invisible. The intimate disclosure of her fears, challengies and worries gives the reader great insight into the secret thoughts that must plague those leaders who approach their leadership work with humility and compassion. It was fasinating to see Watergate, the Pentagon papers, and the politics of Washington through the eyes of an insider. Her strength was admirable, her friends many, her wisdom earned from a life of mentoring from her father to Warren Buffet and the mistakes she learned from. An encyclopedia of an era in the publishing industry. I loved it.

I bought this book for a journalism project I was working on in high school. 7 years later, it is still a great read and recommend it to anyone interested in Women in journalism. I was fascinated by Katharine's writing style and aspire to publish articles of her caliber.

This is a great story of an important American, the press, and politics. But it is so much more: Katharine Graham shares her thought processes, inner feelings about events, and admits to her very human fears and shortcomings. In reading it, one can gain great insight into what CEOs go through in their efforts, including their learning curves. Although a long book (over 600 pages), it is such a good read with terrific descriptions of events, emotional highs and lows, and includes many humorous moments. Truly fascinating from beginning to end.Personal History

A wonderful book that brings the excitement, and the changes in our country alive, through Katherine Graham's recollections. She has a unique vantage point, being in the top circle of friends with our leader's in Washington, DC..

Not since "What It Takes" have I felt so compelled to read a book from (figurative) cover to cover. I found Katharine Graham's memoirs to be so well-written and fascinating that I read the entire thing in 2 days. Katharine covers her parents' histories, her early life, her tumultuous marriage to Phil Graham, and her reign at the Washington Post in a graceful way that admits where her objectivity has failed her. She was not vengeful nor remorseful and was able to look at her life with great perspective. I do wish there was even more detail about her later years at the Post, as it seemed she wanted to wrap up the book quickly towards the end. Certainly she was an interesting role model for young women, even if she felt she did not warrant the admiration. Highly recommended to those who enjoy politics and/or memoirs.

Interesting story, to be sure. And easy to read. The level of detail and her ability to organize the sheer volume of it were remarkable. As others have noted, this book would have benefited from an editor--to shorten it (the entire book and many of the sentences within) and to correct grammar and word usage where needed. Ms. Graham spoke frequently of her lack of self-confidence. Maybe that's what drove her to make almost everyone she met a friend and to deny she 'hated' Nixon. Just yesterday, a guest on the Diane Rehm show (NPR) who worked for Ms. Graham commented on how much she 'hated' Nixon. As I said, interesting.

I bought this book after the sale of Washington Post. Gave me a lot of insight into history of Washington Post and their philosophy. I hope it does not change with this sale. Interesting insight into the world of "haves" vs "have not".

As an ardent reader of autobiographies, I found Katherine Graham, A Personal History, one of the best and most enjoyable I have ever read. As a member of the media, her insights into this period of American history absolutely fascinating. Her frankness, especially with her personal life, was key to the greatness of this book. Loved it. AE

The memoir has fascinating material but badly needs a ruthless editor who will cut the quoted letters and speeches in a draconianl fashion. Also the over-=detailed trips and lplaces should be thinned down

Katherine Graham kindly mentored me upon my arrival in Washington, DC. She was wonderful to me but now I realize that I knew her only superficially. Her work ethic,sense of humor, and ease with which she handled life's difficulties comes through clearly.

I agree with many other reviewers: this book was too long and could have used more judicious editing, especially in the first half. I was actually aggravated by Graham's descriptions of how she wandered from school to school, job to job, whenever the whim struck her. My interest picked up greatly when she took over the Washington Post because there was finally some substance and her life story was more worthy of a book. I found her description of the strike at the Post to be particularly interesting. Her personal life, not so much -- If you're going to tell us that you're chummy with Henry Kissinger & co., give the stories some substance and don't just hint at what the relationship was really like. It took me a long time to get through this book because of the dull first half, but I resolved to finish it on a long flight. Otherwise, I don't know if I would have stuck with it.