Best known for biographies of figures like Bill Clinton and Al Gore, Maraniss has chosen here to focus on some of the more obscure portions of their stories. He recounts Rhodes Scholar Clinton's transatlantic crossing in 1968, a trip that revealed elements of the future president's persona. The Gore story is the comical tale of a bungled sting operation against a minor local politico during his abbreviated newspaper career in Nashville. Maraniss scrutinizes Jesse Jackson's relationship to Martin Luther King, Jr., illuminating the skillful, if not entirely forthright way Jackson exploited that connection to advance his career. In the book's introduction, Maraniss endorses the proposition that "most people are a combination of good and bad and that it is always worth the effort to try to understand them," a guiding principle reflected in his writing about these figures.
The sports-focused section of Into the Story contains four pieces drawn from Maraniss's writings on Vince Lombardi and Roberto Clemente, among others. More provocative than the extended account of the Packers-Cowboys 1967 "Ice Bowl" is a brief meditation on whether Lombardi's fundamentalist coaching style would have worked in the age of tattooed athletes, end zone dances and multimillion endorsement deals. Maraniss concludes, on persuasive evidence from Lombardi's players, that it would. "Out of the Sea" recounts Clemente's tragic death in a plane crash on December 31, 1972, as he accompanied a shipment of relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims. A generous portrait of Muhammad Ali in middle age rounds out this section.
More than anywhere else in this fine collection, David Maraniss's sensitivity and grace as a writer are revealed in the stories that focus on members of his family. "Losing Wendy" is a tribute to his sister, a music teacher killed in car accident in 1997, whose quiet devotion leads him to a powerful reflection on "the people our modern celebrity culture honors." In "Uncle Phil's Brain," he tells the heartbreaking story of his mother's brother, hospitalized for 17 years for mental illness in an era before the availability of drugs that almost certainly would have ameliorated his condition.
In this sampling of David Maraniss's diverse and celebrated career, the author has invited his readers to accompany him on what he describes as an "educational and fulfilling lifelong journey." It's a trip well worth taking.--Harvey Freedenberg
Shelf Talker: In this selection of 32 samples from his diverse career, award-winning journalist David Maraniss explores the worlds of politics, sports and family.