I inherited this book in a box of used books that someone brought over when they left Belize. As such, it sat on my shelf for a while before I reluctantly started it. It didn't take long to hook me.

First of all, it is a history of the selling of TV news; with all of the familiar and unfamiliar names in that business. Stories of now major star when they were first starting out. The sequences of presidents and vice-presidents in the Networks. This may be turget prose to soap-opera fans attracted to the book by the beauty on the cover, but it was interesting to me.

Secondly, it is the agonizing history of Jessica Savitch, obsessively driven to be the queen of Network News, privately anguished by memories of her father, who let her down by dying when she was 12 (he was 31), and more publically tortured by a long distructive co-dependent relationship with Ron Kershaw, another TV news luminary, and the scorn of her co-workers, who hated her self-centered focus on her success.

A young ambitious wannabee in showbiz can learn a lot from this book. I learned:
1. It takes incredible drive (even obsession) to be successful in a competitive business like Network News.
2. You will probably lose all your friends and your life (figuratively, if not literally)
3. Altho you may look happy and successful in public, you may actually be miserable in the midst of it all.
4. Whether you deserve it or not, success is probably more a matter of fortune. In the long run -- scum as well as cream rises to the top.

I already knew these things from a lifetime of living in the very competitive computer business (full of smart, ambitious, driven people) but it underlined an old cliche' -- "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Though out of print, this bio can be found in used bookstores everywhere. Because once you read it, you'll want rid of it. Way depressing. Beautiful Jessica Savitch had everything: looks, verve, charm, talent, a personality...she even anchored the NBC evening news (she was actually the White House correspondent, but NBC exploited her in every way imaginable) at age 30! Co-workers considered her a prima donna, but the ratings gods loved her - even when she apologized to the viewership for being absent for a couple of days (it was already well known she'd had an abortion). Her cocaine and alcohol addiction not-with-standing, she was the charter representative of the Baby-Boom generation. After appearing on a "Newsbreak" during which she was so thick tongued one couldn't understand what she was saying, Jessica suffered a nervous breakdown, and retreated from public view.During her recovery, she died in an automobile accident. Her life's chronicle bears an eerie resemblance to another blonde heroine - Princess Di. Remarkable, and deeply troubling.

Even though this book is out of print, Amazon found it for me. I find Jessica Savitch to be an inspiration. Through extremely hard work she was a pioneer in the broadcast field. I enjoyed reading what she went through, how she succeeded, and enjoyed the humor she injected in the book.

Her autobiography hides, I think, her problems with drugs. If you want to read more about that, I recommend Alanna Nash's Golden Girl, a very excellent biography of Jessica Savitch.

However, I could not put this book down! I read it in two sittings. I'm glad Amazon found this book!

Published in 1988, this biography is relatively well written and compelling, but by no means a classic. The slowest part of the book is the beginning, as author Alanna Nash went to great pains to detail the Savitch family tree. Although not terribly exciting, the early chapters paint a crucial portrait of Jessica Savitch as a youngster--hopelessly spoiled by wealthy, snobbish grandparents, yet seemingly ignored by her mother while developing a very close relationship with her father. Savitch's father died in his mid-thirties of a terminal illness, leaving his oldest daughter at age twelve. Time and again, the author illustrates Jessica's need for relationships throughout her short life which would replace the loss of her father. For this reader, something just doesn't add up--there isn't quite enough explanation as to the bond shared by father and daughter to justify a lifetime of self-destructive behavior resulting from his death. At any rate, interesting observations about the mother's coldness toward Savitch surface throughout the book--and Savitch's life. It's indeed a mystery why comprehensive family counseling wasn't sought after the man's death, and that question isn't answered satisfactorily, either.

Savitch, of course, deserves a huge tip of the cap for her role in breaking down barriers which stood in the late 1960's and early 1970's as she broke into broadcasting. The author effectively captures Savitch's delight as she realized what she wanted to do with her life, and her obsession as she pursued her dreams. Likewise, Nash makes clear early on (certainly by her college years) that Savitch's self-esteem and well-being became increasingly dependent on her professional success.

The most interesting sections of the book deal with Savitch's groundbreaking years at network affiliates in Houston and Philadelphia. Nash makes it clear that Savitch got those jobs through nothing more than looks and sheer persistence, then learned the ropes and built her qualifications to the point where she was ready to move to the next level. Along the way, a fascinating look at these markets--especially Houston--is provided. Even casual news viewers will enjoy comparing today's news departments to what Houston, Texas was like a generation ago.

By the late 1970's, Jessica Savitch was a rising star in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her eye was clearly on becoming a star at the network level as well, and becoming the first female to anchor a weekly nightly news broadcast on a major network. By then a serious drug problem was developing as well, to which Nash devotes quite a bit of time. Also by then, Savitch began to think of herself as a star, much to the detriment of her career and personal life. Long-time friends and colleagues are quoted repeatedly throughout the book, making quite clear that the effort and desire which got her to the brink of network stardom disappeared once she expected everyone to treat her like a big deal.

Distressingly, Nash does a poor job of covering Savitch's five years at NBC. It is clear that her escalating drug use and personal instability hampered her, as did upper management's mixed emotions about when and how to use her. There were also huge divisions as to how talented she really was, and if it was worth putting up with the headaches of dealing with her. But my complaint in these chapters is that while Nash made very clear the highs and lows in Houston and Philadelphia, only a few highs and lows during the NBC tenure are hit. Maybe that's because so much space is devoted to her personal life at that juncture. The drug use was hopelessly out of control, and Savitch's disastrous marriages (two of them, in a remarkably short period of time), are covered from top to bottom.

This book reminds me a great deal of Bob Woodward's "Wired," the biography of John Belushi. Ironically, it's mentioned that a close friend of Savitch spoke to her about the comedian's death due to drug use and urged her to get help. Savitch, of course, hurtled toward death in much the same way Belushi did. But Nash takes an almost matter-of-fact approach to Savitch's disastrous moment on NBC in October, 1983--the night that Savitch slurred and stumbled her way through a sixty-second live update during prime-time will forever be her legacy. True, Savitch's drug use likely caught up to her that fateful night. But Nash doesn't even make clear if that was Savitch's last night on the network--she had just signed a one-year contract extension, and nothing is said about whether she would be kept after the incident. There's virtually nothing in the way of comment from executives about the incident, either--Nash seems to have taken the approach that it was a moot point since Savitch died three weeks later.

Savitch's death remains curious to this day. She died of asphyxiation due to drowning when the car she was a passenger in plunged into a small creek, but it's eerily pointed out that she covered a crash in the same creek outside the same restaurant while reporting for the Philadelphia station eight years before. This book is like that in many ways--heavy on details which provide fascinating illumination, and mysteriously short in other areas of coverage. There's no doubt, though, that it's easily the most comprehensive work regarding the short, turbulent life of Jessica Savitch. Recommended, despite the complaints.

I could barely recall who Jessica Savitch was, but I love biographies so I read it. It was a breathtaking journey into a young girl turned celebrity's life. I read this book in one day and I couldn't get her out of my head for weeks afterward.

In high anticipation, I watched the movie "Up Close & Personal" which was supposedly based on this book. Even though the movie was good, it really had very few similarities to the book. I was dissapointed.

I strongly recommend this book.

Alanna Nash's biography of Jessica Savitch is a fine work, richly detailed and competently researched. In reading the story of this gifted, tragic woman one recalls the old Greek dictum, "Those whom the gods wish to destory they first make mad." I recall witnessing that now famous Sunday evening news broadcast, many years ago, when Jessica appeared in a foggy, bewildered state. I was busy with a young family at mealtime but stopped to watch as she seemed to self-destruct on the air.

Jessica Savitch led a charmed life, was blessed by the gods at first. Beautiful, intelligent, and charismatic, she found all doors opening to her. She entered television journalism with expectations on all sides of great success. She died at an early age after suffering through miserable relationships and becoming addicted to drugs. This modern-day morality tale makes somber reading, but is worth your time. Recommended.