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My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times

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It's probably unfair to say that Harold Evans has led a charmed life, but there's ample support for that conclusion in this spirited memoir of his diverse career in newspapers and publishing. The story of his rise from a working class background in Manchester, England to the heights of British journalism is a briskly and skillfully told tale of hard work, a healthy dose of luck and an unflagging commitment to the highest standards of the profession he has pursued with admirable intensity for more than half a century.

From his days as a 16-year-old working on the Ashton-under-Lyne Reporter, Evans seemed to have newspapers in his blood. Overcoming his share of Britain's class prejudice as he scrambled up journalism's equivalent of Disraeli's "greasy pole," he displayed a healthy appetite for the grunt work that brought him to the attention of superiors who offered him positions of increasing responsibility along the way until he became editor, in 1961, of the stodgy Darlington Northern Echo, a regional paper in England's northeast. In that role, he launched a series of investigative campaigns that served as the model for the more far-reaching and dramatic ones he would pursue when he moved to London.

Evans astutely grasped early in his career that "transmitting information is easier than creating understanding," and throughout, he devoted himself to stimulating readers and provoking them to action. Although it's apparent he possessed rich stores of self-confidence to sustain him in the rough and tumble world of British journalism, there's a nice air of self-deprecation in observations like this one, attributed to one of his colleagues: "The only qualities essential for real success in journalism are rat-like cunning, a plausible manner, and a little literary ability."

The pace of the memoir slows somewhat in its second half, the bulk of which recounts the years that Evans served as editor of the London Sunday Times. In contrast to the crisp and frequently humorous stories of his upward climb in the newspaper business, in these chapters he tends to dwell at length, although with understandable pride, on the investigative journalism he relished. One chapter details the obstacles posed by Britain's Official Secrets Act to the effort to uncover the truth about the Kim Philby spy case. Another chronicles the paper's lengthy campaign to help secure just compensation for the young victims of the drug Thalidomide, exposing a sorry tale of corporate greed and the intransigence of the British civil justice system in the process. And in one of the book's lengthiest accounts, Evans relates the mystery surrounding the death of the Times Middle East correspondent David Holden, the victim of a still unsolved murder plot in Cairo. While Evans narrates these stories with passion and verve, some of the controversies lack sufficient intrinsic interest, and most of the principal actors are so little known, that American readers, at least, may find their interest flagging.

Although it's given fairly cursory treatment relative to the rest of his memoir, the most recent quarter century or so of Evans's life, including forays into the worlds of magazine (Condé Nast Traveler and U.S. News & World Report) and book (Atlantic Monthly Press and Random House) publishing, has been among the most stimulating. He's frank in describing how his affair with glamorous journalist and editor Tina Brown (so famous, he notes wryly, that some have referred to him as "Mr. Harold Brown") brought an end, amicable as he describes it, to his first marriage. His take on Rupert Murdoch, who purchased the Times as it emerged from a year-long strike in 1981 and forced Evans from his position as editor of the paper after barely a year in that position, is harsh, but in some respects oddly admiring. These portraits, and numerous others like them, are offered up in a witty, verbally dexterous style.

MY PAPER CHASE closes by reminding us that not a week goes by when there's not some dispiriting story of the real or threatened collapse of a venerable newspaper in this country. Given the dismal state of the industry, one might expect the memoir of a man who had spent most of his life toiling as a print journalist to end on an elegiac note. Instead, reflecting the adaptability that sustained his career, Evans is optimistic about the ability of the traditional newspaper to transform itself into something just as important and useful in the new world of online media. "The question is not whether Internet journalism will be dominant," he writes, "but whether it will maintain the quality of the best print journalism. In the end it is not the delivery system that counts. It is what it delivers."

If the current generation of journalists is determined to carry on with integrity and grit equal to Harold Evans's, perhaps those who cherish newspaper journalism don't have as much to fear as they may think.

--- Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg

It's a heck of a good read, containing a lot of modern historical references which throw ones mind back over the last 60 years. Its history of 20th century journalism and printing may be an obituary, but I agree with the author that eventually a combination of printing and internet may be developed. Hope so. D H

Harold Evans' My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times appears a bit intimidating at first, if only because of the breadth, depth, and heft of it. But Harold Evans' writing flows, I found myself thoroughly engrossed. Born in 1928 from working class parents, Evans became a reporter at sixteen. His natural ability, drive, tenacity, and nose for a good story led him not just to excel in his field but to take on unrecognized and unpopular causes and to sway public opinion. One of the book's greatest strengths is the extent to which Evans gives us the background and context for each of the events or stories that he shares.

At the start, Evans delves into his own background. His father had little formal education but was a genius at numbers. For instance, if you named a date whether it was 25 years ago or just a few months, his father could unerringly identify which day of the week it was. He worked his way up at the railway, beginning as an engine cleaner to the position of driver. His ability to calculate how much a person's wages would be, taking into account the different wage scales, overtime, deductions, and irregular hours, was recognized in his company's accounting staff and won him the gratitude and affection of his colleagues at the railway. Evans points out that in England at that time, his father's mathematical abilities, even coupled with hard work, would not have afforded him better opportunities because of "the Geddes axe." Sir Eric Geddes, a.k.a. Lord Inchcape, a Minister of the Crown and the former manager of the North Eastern Railway Company, had a strong contempt for the abilities of the working class. In his committee's examination of the expenditure of public funds, he advised against giving secondary school education to poor children, "children whose mental capabilities do not justify it" - essentially consigning an entire generation to very limited prospects.

Evans' generation were given the opportunity to advance through a limited number of scholarships granted to ex-servicemen by the Ministry of Education, through the Butler Education Act in Great Britain. The Butler Act was a more restrictive version of the G.I. Bill but it paid for Evans' university education.

Evans shares what it was like to work in the early newsrooms, where typewriters, typesetters, scissors, spikes, and paste were critical tools of the trade. In the chapter Stop Press, Evans shares what it was like as a young "copy taster" managing the coverage of the unfolding of the Harrow-Wealdstone disaster - a train crash that quickly became a collision of three trains with 75 dead and 110 feared dead for Manchester Evening News. He managed, edited, revised, and published eight editions in six hours, without the help of computers.

Evans' projects range from battling air pollution to helping improve overseas newspapers, to beautifying Manchester to exposing the cause of the deadliest DC-10 air crash and uncovering one of the largest health scandals in the century.

I wish that I'd gotten this review out earlier to help people who might be looking for a good book whether for themselves or their loved ones. I found it fascinating - it's a book that I'll enjoy rereading at leisure.

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (November 5, 2009), 592 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

I'm a huge fan of memoirs. I love to read about someone else's life. My Paper Chase tells the story of Howard Evans who ran a newspaper and the struggles he faced daily. He charged on even when there was a chance that the newspaper would lose it's place in the world.

This was a very interesting book that allows you to look back in time and understand that nothing comes easy and everything has a price.

If there was ever any doubts that the English have a better vocabulary than we Americans this book should dispel most of them. It told the story of a remarkable man from cradle to present. If you don't have a PHD in English lit be prepared to read quite a few sentences over. All in all, a good read.

MY PAPER CHASE: TRUE STORIES OF VANISHED TIMES is a memoir from one known for his legendary career in journalism and publishing and tells how he entered the industry. He left school at 15 as wartime Britain was being hammered by the Germans and became a reporter for a tiny newspaper, beginning a long career in journalism and newspaper reporting. His long career observes many milestones and keys of newspaper history and thus is a top pick for any serious library strong in journalism.

My Paper Chase is a fascinating read. Evans' rich detail provides the back-story to many of the key international events of the 20th century. His book is far more than a memoir; it is a chronicle of the evolution of journalism depicted through the lens of his career.

The era of handset metal type and stories filed without the aid of cell phones and computers comes alive through Evans' skillful narration. He is a consummate storyteller who gives enough background to provide context, yet the book never bogs down. His writing is tight, polished, and conversational, with graceful transitions between events.

Evans pioneered investigative reporting during his tenure as editor of the Sunday Times. This was a major advance for journalists in Britain, a country long without freedom of the press, where the government traditionally censored newspapers. In 1993 Evans became an American citizen and transitioned to the publishing industry as president of Random House.

In its review of "My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times," THE WASHINGTON POST notes that Harold Evans ". . . championed investigative journalism." His accomplishments in this field do indeed deserve high praise. Evans earned even more praise for his outstanding 1998 Borzoi Book "The American Century." But his analysis of the Sacco-Vanzetti case in "The American Century" (p. 179) is flawed because he relied solely upon Paul Avrich's 1991 book "Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background." The conclusion of Evans that " . . . it was probably guilt of violent anarchism, not of robbery and murder for which they were executed" suggests he did not search documents in the Sacco-Vanzetti Case Papers at the Harvard Law School Library. Historians Richard N. Current and Gerald J.Goodwin probably had not searched Harvard's S-V collection either--Current did not mention Harvard in his letter to me--when they declared Sacco and Vanzetti guilty in their book "A History of the United States" (Knopf,1980, p. 622). Among other eminent persons who challenge Evans' conclusion is Paul S. Boyer, Merle Curti Professor of History Emeritus and former director (1993-2001) of the Institute for Research in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In "The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People" (Houghton Mifflin, 2009, p. 741) Boyer writes: "Later research on Boston's anarchist community and ballistics tests on Sacco's gun pointed to their guilt." It's a pretty good bet that the entry on the Sacco-Vanzetti Case will be changed in the revised edition of "The Oxford Companion to United States History." But that's another story.

Why would anyone, if not a member of the author's family or a close friend, take the time to read about Harold Evans? I think most would do so to gain insights into the life and work of an editor of a great newspaper, such as London's Sunday Times.

It is when Mr. Evans relates stories of his various editorships that this memoir to me is most interesting. The noble crusade over the thalidomide children, the concern over the a foreign correspondent who may have died due to ties with an intelligence service, and the difficulty of dealing with old style labor unions on Fleet Street; this is the solid core of Mr. Evan's book.

Less interesting is the material presented on Mr. Evans own early or late personal life: he not being a notable and lasting figure in any great sense. Meanwhile, his prose style, while good, does not enjoy being blessed with the highest of literary gifts.

This is a book that will do well on the talk show circuit and in paperback, but probably will not be widely read after this season.

This is a revealing review of Harold Evans career in journalism. Starting out in the north of England, a working class background, his RAF service, early provincial newspaper work, and eventually landing him in London as the editor of The Sunday Times in what was to become, thanks to Evans, its heyday. The book reads very well, is entertaining, but will be much more enjoyable if you're familiar with the news stories of the time, especially the mid 60's to 70's in England. The Sunday Times coverage of Thalidomide, Bloody Sunday (and the "Troubles" in N. Ireland), Kim Philby, the 7 Day War etc are some of the stories covered in detail in the book. Evans was rigorous in his attention to details, and innovative in his use of graphics and especially photography while at The Sunday Times. It's also amazing how much of his own diaries, notes, etc he still seems to possess after all these years!
His career in the US hasn't been as focused as it was in London, being defined by his work at The Sunday Times, so the US portion of the book including his work at US News and World Report, Conde Naste Traveller, book publishing etc wasn't as interesting to me.
All in all it's amazing to read all his accomplishments as a journalist, a crusading, impatient with the status quo journalist and editor, I should say. His books are equally impressive, from the "Pictures on a Page" (a journalist and picture editors text book from the 1970's), up to his most recently produced, and brilliantly illustrated, "Century" book. He ends this memoir, not on a "sigh" for the good old days, but rather the understanding that people want and need reliable information. That is still important and will be in the future, whether they get this information on a printed sheet, or a tablet computer.