RIP David Halberstam

[HejiraHenry]

He must have saved a lot of cab fare through the years.

Once, when he was coming to Nashville after his NBA book came out, I picked him up at the airport.

(He was a Tennessean alumnus.)

I wrote a book review based on our conversation and later heard that he's liked it. Which, for a kid, seemed like a powerful affirmation.

RIP.

 

[zeke12]

God, what a blow.
He spoke at my college, too. After the speech, he hung with us and argued about basketball, Then three of us drove him to the airport and he had trouble getting out of the car. He asked for help with his bag.
"Get it yourself," my friend told him. "You won the ****ing Pulitzer prize."
He cracked up.
A great, great man.
RIP

Great story, F_B.

 

[John]

Here's great book that chronicles what he and others went through covering Vietnam: Once Upon a Distant War: David Halberstam, Neil Sheehan, Peter Arnett--Young War Correspondents and Their Early Vietnam Battles

 

[SF_Express]

He must have saved a lot of cab fare through the years.

Once, when he was coming to Nashville after his NBA book came out, I picked him up at the airport.

Not making light, but indeed, the driver of the car he was riding in in the AP story was identified as a grad journalism student at Cal.

 

[slappy4428]

I don't share the godlike awe many people hold for Halberstam, because his sports books were just shot through from cover to cover with egregrious screaming errors, but he was still a hell of a writer, and a very influential one, too.

R.I.P.

I tip my hat to you and my glass to him... may God bless

 

[In Exile]

I was fortunate enough to work with him on several projects. He was a really good guy, and among the well known in the writing profession that I've had cause to interact with, no one was more genuine. He kept his home phone listed, gave of his time to younger writers (when he had the time and you had something to say), and didn't b.s. about what he thought. Could also be very funny and profane. LOVED reporting, and that underscored everything he did, and every bit of advice he gave out - you can never, ever ever report enough.

 

[PopeDirkBenedict]

RIP to one of the great ones.

 

[Dyno]

I am so sad to hear this news. I recently finished The Reckoning (posted about it on the Books Thread) and have The Children sitting on my table. I had the honor of speaking to him once, just after he finished The Children and he told me it was his best book yet. RIP to one of my favorite writers. Such sad, sad news.

 

[buckweaver]

"Summer of '49" was one of the first baseball books I ever read, after it came out in 1989. It remains among my fondest. And here's some love for "October 1964".

RIP to a great writer.

 

[jgmacg]

If for no other reason than his resurrection of the work of WC Heinz, Mr. Halberstam will be very much mourned in this little household. A great reporter and a fine writer, he was also a terrific gentleman. That he had just come from speaking to another group of youngsters about the craft and value of the work we do is only fitting - he was a generous evangelist in the service of better journalism.

I have been extraordinarily lucky in my career, and such luck brought me into Mr. Halberstam's orbit on several occasions. He was unfailingly gracious and good-humored. He was patient in answering my questions about his work and about my own; was a candid, cheerful critic; and gave of himself and his time in a way that only a handful of those who reach the summit ever are.

He believed very deeply in the work we do, and in telling our stories as best we can.

Altogether a mensch, he is already missed.

 

[Troy]

Definitely a tragic loss. RIP David Halberstam.

 

[Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L)]

I may be alone in thinking that The Fifties was the most enjoyable of his books.

My first book by Halberstam was The Best and Brightest. I picked it up because I thought it was about JFK - but it really was about Vietnam. Very enlightening stuff.

I would hope that ESPN would open up his Page 2 archive to fans without Insider status but there's no way ESPN would have the decency to do that.

And so it goes.

 

[Rufino]

Feinstein on ESPN Radio discussing Halberstam right now. RIP.

 

[imjustagirl2]

This was a subject line that made me gasp and cover my mouth with my hand.

As has already been said, he's one of my inspirations. RIP.

 

[STLIrish]

Damn. That's terrible. All that was said above, and, for chrissake, the guy even wrote the probably best-ever book about crew (The Amateurs).

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

I'll never forget the incredible LIFE magazine story about the death of his brother, Michael, at the hands of a robber about 25 years ago.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

I heard it on the radio a little while ago. The light had turned green and I was just sitting there listening to it until the car behind me honked.

 

[CapeCodder]

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. He's on the Mt. Rushmore for American journalists.

 

[JR]

"The Best & the Brightest" was a brilliant book. RIP.

 

[Sxysprtswrtr]

I'm speechless ...

Me too. Oh man.
Loved his books, loved his works.
RIP.