Leddy Library News

The Columbia Journalism Review asked their favorite journalists, scholars, and critics to recommend books and other works that could help the next generation of reporters become better observers, storytellers, and thinkers. You can find the following suggestions from the Leddy Library:

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“Though not officially a journalist, he pretty much invented the reported urban sociological sketch, one of journalism’s best and most durable forms.”

“Part diary, part rewrite of Shirer’s CBS radio reports, it conveys both the daily feeling of the beginning of World War II and the relentless energy and courage of a great reporter at work.”

“Takes a fairly arcane subject—island biogeography—and from it weaves a great narrative. He’s an intrepid reporter and a wonderful storyteller, and any journalist can learn from him.”

“Abbey is the real thing, and those don’t come along very often. His memoir-cum-elegy for the American Southwest is worth reading once a decade or so.”

“Reveals the courage that journalists can be called upon to summon and how it’s possible to retain one’s humanity in the face of evil.”

“A lesson in writing, of the importance of detail in telling a story. It teaches journalists: look, see, remember”

“Still the gold standard for true crime writing, even if there’s some fudging of the facts.”

“For the sheer joy of writing and giving a sense of place.”

“Accessible and provocative summary of scholarship on the role of public opinion in American politics.”

“A masterpiece of the graphic novel genre, demonstrating how storytelling can be solemn, beautiful, and devastatingly sad using a medium usually considered inferior to the long-form written word.”

“The latest den, which brought the world to its knees, is but an echo of the past.”

“Leaves you unable to draw simple conclusions about the complicated, often no-win choices people and families must face daily.”

“Uses data to analyze, in detail, the health of societies around the world; helped show how GDP is a poor measure of how healthy a society is.”

“A must-read if you want to understand how The New York Times became our most important newspaper.”

“Goes beyond reporting, literally into the trenches, to give his firsthand account of the Spanish Civil War.”

“This history of the black migration is the best model I know for using narrative nonfiction to depict sweeping social change.”

“Analysis of the nature of graphic narrative invites journalists (and everyone else) to continually reinvent every storytelling form we’ve inherited.”

“Complementary deconstructions of TV culture serve as a valuable corrective to today’s wave of Internet-determinist diatribes.”

“Will cure you of adverbs, and embolden your best writer’s instincts.”

“How media-related decisions shaped the openness but also the gargantuan flaws of the American public sphere.”

“Parses brilliantly such questions as, What really is the public that journalists supposedly serve, and how well do we serve it?”

“A wonderful example of how to deal comfortably with the intersection of science and public policy.”

“Exemplifies the precise observation, psychological complexity, and generosity of spirit to which narrative nonfiction should aspire.”

“A perfect antidote to watered-down, on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand war coverage, and a testament to the power of the individual observer.”

This entry was posted on Friday, November 4th, 2011 at 9.59am by Mita and is filed under Arts & Social Science, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Communication Studies, Computer Science, Data Centre, Dramatic Art, Earth Science, Economics, Education, Engineering, English, Front Page, GLIER, History, Human Kinetics, Labour Studies, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Librarianship, Mathematics, Music, Nursing, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Reference Desk, Science, Social Work, Sociology and Anthropology, Visual Arts, Women's Studies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.