Synopses & Reviews
Mapes, an award-winning television producer who broke the story of the Abu Ghraib prison tortures, was fired by CBS after producing Dan Rather's lightning rod of a story on the George W. Bush National Guard documents. She will chronicle what really happened at CBS and reveal the corporate, political, and ideological agendas that threaten the integrity of journalists and the news.
* Features a new chapter for the trade paper edition Mary Mapes has been an award-winning television news producer and reporter for twenty-five years, the last fifteen of them for CBS News, primarily for CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and 60 Minutes II. In 2004, her last year at CBS, in addition to the George W. Bush National Guard story, she broke the stories of the existence of Strom Thurmond's unacknowledged biracial daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, and the Abu Ghraib prison tortures, for which she won a Peabody Award in 2005. She began her career at KIRO-TV in Seattle, Washington in 1979. She lives in Dallas, Texas. It was a great story. A true story. The kind of story any news producer would love to report, nail down, and get on the air. And that is just what Mary Mapes and her producing and reporting team did in September 2004 when Dan Rather of CBS anchored their report on President George W. Bush's dereliction of his National Guard duty. The firestorm that followed their broadcast trashed Mapes's well-respected career, caused Rather to resign from his anchor chair a year early, and led to an unprecedented "internal inquiry" into the storychaired by former Reagan attorney general Richard Thornburgh.
Truth and Duty is Mapes's account of the often surreal, always harrowing fallout she experienced for raising questions about a powerful sitting president. It examines Bush's political roots as governor of Texas and sheds light on the solidity of the documents at the heart of the National Guard story as well as where they came from. Her book takes readers into the newsroom, where coverage decisions are made, and out into the field, where the real reporting is done. It is peopled with a colorful and vigorous cast of charactersfrom Karl Rove to Sumner Redstone and Bill Burkett to Dan Ratherand moves from small-town rural Texas to the deserts of Afghanistan, from hurricane season in Florida to CBS corporate headquartersaka Black Rockin New York City.
Truth and Duty is a chronicle of how the public's right to knowor even to ask questionsis being threatened by an alliance of politicians, news organizations, bloggers, and corporate America. It connects the dots between the emergence of a kind of digital McCarthyism, a corporation under fire from the federal government, and the decision about what kinds of stories a news network may cover. "Ms. Mapes details her rise and fall with a considerable amount of flair and self-deprecating humor . . . Simply put, she is woman, hear her roaron behalf of both her instilled patriotism and her journalistic integrity . . . Truth and Duty is a good read from start to finish."The Dallas Morning News "Mapes musters a controlled, readable narrative about the story that became her professional undoing . . . the story . . . builds by increments (including) the memos themselves, and how they meshin ways large and small, in nuance and substancewith Bush's official Guard records."The Washington Post Book World "It's an illuminating look into journalism and the challenges reporters face in an era of blogging, instant Internet analysis, corporate ownership and network news starts."The Buffalo News "In . . . Truth and Duty, [Mapes] comes across as the kind of rip-snorting rodeo rider of the news I would have killed to work with as an editor. Her gallop through such Mapes-produced 60 Minutes II scoops as securing Karla Faye Tucker's death row interview or tracking down Strom Thurmond's black illegitimate daughter or exposing the atrocities of Abu Ghraib gives us a heart-racing glimpse of a resourceful TV pro in her fearless prime."Tina Brown "Truth and Duty is a plainspoken . . . oftentimes sympathetic look at how the National Guard story came to be and why it fell apart."The New York Observer
Review
“Ms. Mapes details her rise and fall with a considerable amount of flair and self-deprecating humor…Simply put, she is woman, hear her roar—on behalf of both her instilled patriotism and her journalistic integrity….TRUTH AND DUTY is a good read from start to finish.”—
The Dallas Morning News
“Mapes musters a controlled, readable narrative about the story that became her professional undoing…the story…builds by increments (including) the memos themselves, and how they mesh—in ways large and small, in nuance and substance—with Bushs official Guard records.”—The Washington Post Book World
“Its an illuminating look into journalism and the challenges reporters face in an era of blogging, instant Internet analysis, corporate ownership and network news starts.”—The Buffalo News
“In…TRUTH AND DUTY, [Mapes] comes across as the kind of rip-snorting rodeo rider of the news I would have killed to work with as an editor. Her gallop through such Mapes-produced ‘60 Minutes II scoops as securing Karla Faye Tuckers death row interview or tracking down Strom Thurmonds black illegitimate daughter or exposing the atrocities of Abu Ghraib gives us a heart-racing glimpse of a resourceful TV pro in her fearless prime.”—Tina Brown
“TRUTH AND DUTY is a plainspoken…oftentimes sympathetic look at how the National Guard story came to be and why it fell apart.”—The New York Observer
Synopsis
The producer at the heart of the 60 Minutes/George Bush National Guard controversy presents a fascinating elucidation of how the public's right to know is being jeopardized by a corrupt alliance among politicians, news organizations, and corporate America. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.
Synopsis
A riveting account of how the public's right to know is being attacked by an unholy alliance among politicians, news organizations and corporate America
For twenty five years, Mary Mapes has been an award-winning television producer and reporter -- the last fifteen of them for CBS News, principally for the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and 60 Minutes. She had the bedrock of respect of her peers -- in 2003 alone, she broke the story of the Abu Ghraib prison tortures (which won CBS The Peabody Award) and the existence of Strom Thurmond's illegitimate bi-racial daughter Essie Mae Washington.
But it was Dan Rather's lightning rod of a story on George W. Bush's National Guard Service that brought Mapes into an unwanted limelight. The firestorm that followed the broadcast led not only to Mapes' firing and Rather's stepping down from his anchor chair a year early, but to an unprecedented "internal" inquiry into the story -- chaired by former Reagan Attorney General Richard Thornburgh.
Peopled with an historic and colorful cast of characters--from Karl Rove to Summer Redstone to John Kerry to Col. Bobby Hodges -- this groundbreaking book about how the television news is made (and unmade) made headlines itself when first published. But this, it turns out, is only part of the story. Mapes talks for the first time about the riveting behind-the-scenes action at CBS during this frenzied period and exposes some of the largest political and social controversies that have broken in this new age of dissonance.
Truth and Duty was made into the 2015 film Truth, starring Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace and Elizabeth Moss.
* Features a new chapter for the trade paper edition
Synopsis
A riveting account of how the public's right to know is being attacked by an unholy alliance among politicians, news organizations and corporate America.
Truth and Duty was made into the 2015 film Truth, starring Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace and Elizabeth Moss.
For twenty five years, Mary Mapes has been an award-winning television producer and reporter -- the last fifteen of them for CBS News, principally for the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and 60 Minutes. She had the bedrock of respect of her peers -- in 2003 alone, she broke the story of the Abu Ghraib prison tortures (which won CBS The Peabody Award) and the existence of Strom Thurmond's illegitimate bi-racial daughter Essie Mae Washington.
But it was Dan Rather's lightning rod of a story on George W. Bush's National Guard Service that brought Mapes into an unwanted limelight. The firestorm that followed the broadcast led not only to Mapes' firing and Rather's stepping down from his anchor chair a year early, but to an unprecedented internal inquiry into the story -- chaired by former Reagan Attorney General Richard Thornburgh.
Peopled with an historic and colorful cast of characters--from Karl Rove to Summer Redstone to John Kerry to Col. Bobby Hodges -- this groundbreaking book about how the television news is made (and unmade) made headlines itself when first published. But this, it turns out, is only part of the story. Mapes talks for the first time about the riveting behind-the-scenes action at CBS during this frenzied period and exposes some of the largest political and social controversies that have broken in this new age of dissonance.
* Features a new chapter for the trade paper edition
Synopsis
Mapes, an award-winning television producer who broke the story of the Abu Ghraib prison tortures, was fired by CBS after producing Dan Rather's lightning rod of a story on the George W. Bush National Guard documents. She will chronicle what really happened at CBS and reveal the corporate, political, and ideological agendas that threaten the integrity of journalists and the news.
* Features a new chapter for the trade paper edition
Synopsis
“Mary Mapes succeeds in telling her story fearlessly, humorously and compellingly.”—
The Dallas Morning News A riveting play-by-play of a reporter getting and defending a story that recalls All the Presidents Men, Truth and Duty puts readers in the center of the “60 Minutes II” story on George W. Bushs shirking of his National Guard duty. The firestorm that followed that broadcast—a conflagration that was carefully sparked by the right and fanned by bloggers—trashed Mapes well-respected twenty-five year producing career, caused newsman Dan Rather to resign from his anchor chair early and led to an unprecedented “internal inquiry” into the story…chaired by former Reagan attorney general Richard Thornburgh.
“…trenchant…”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Truth and Duty examines Bushs political roots as governor of Texas, delves into what is known about his National Guard duty—or lack of service—and sheds light on the solidity of the documents that backed up the National Guard story, even including images of the actual documents in an appendix to the book. It is peopled with a colorful cast of characters—from Karl Rove to Sumner Redstone—and moves from small-town Texas to Black Rock—CBS corporate headquarters—in New York City.
“…unflinching…”—Vanity Fair
Truth and Duty connects the dots between a corporation under fire from the federal government and the decision about what kinds of stories a news network may cover. It draws a line from reporting in the trenches to the gutting of the great American tradition of a independent media and asks whether its possible to break important stories on a powerful sitting president.
“…illuminating…”—The Buffalo News
www.truthandduty.com
About the Author
Mary Mapes was an award-winning television news producer and reporter for twenty-five years, fifteen of them for CBS News, primarily for CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and 60 Minutes II. She lives in Dallas, Texas.