The Good Times

The Good Times is a sequel of sorts to Baker’s classic memoir Growing Up. This part of his life covers mainly his newpaper career at the Baltimore Sun and the New York Times. Baker’s writing is familar, friendly, but shows the craft he perfected over the years working deadlines. His introspection about his own failings encourages the rest of us. “Oh, Russell, make something of yourself” his mother would tell him. Even the two Pulitzer Prizes he won probably wouldn’t have been very impressive to her. The end of the book is a discussion of Baker’s nose to the grindstone work ethic and how it contrasts with his own children’s more laid back attitude toward life. At first it bothered him. Then he realized, his was a show more generational attitude, one that came with the sorrow of the Depression, one that he wouldn’t have wished on his children. This book, like all of Russell Baker’s books, is a gem and a pleasure to read. show less

This was a nice, readable, enjoyable account of Baker's early adulthood, with fun glimpses into the world of newspapers in the mid-twentieth century. Baker frames the story with discussion of his mother's ambition for him. She was always telling him he should make something of himself, and even when he achieved success he was urged to try for greater things. His drive led him to a successful newspaper career. He served in London and did a lot of Senate, White House, and campaign reporting before finally settling into life as a columnist, where he ends this portion of his story.

Baker provides wonderful descriptions of life in London, his interactions with famous people, and the workings of the print media. He also provides a bit of show more commentary on the differences between his generation's ambition and his children's less ambitious, more freewheeling attitudes. Although he initially bemoans his mother's constant pressure to succeed, he eventually comes to the conclusion that this work ethic is a better approach.

I liked this one and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in journalism, history, or just a good memoir. show less

Memoir that covers, roughly, the years from 1947 to 1962, when Baker was a reporter (at various levels) for the Baltimore Sun, later transitioning to the New York Times; the volume concludes when Baker was given the "Observer" column he later held for many years. There is a wealth of funny stories in the book, and Baker doesn't spare himself from being the butt of humour, though I did find his naif routine in the politics of the Times, when one of his colleagues was forced out, to be a little bit assumed. He also wears his poverty a bit like a hair-shirt at times, which means to me that he might have been rather difficult to deal with, in the chip-on-shoulder department. Still, I think this was better than the first volume (Growing Up), show more in that to a certain extent, Baker *did* grow up. Recommended. show less

Russell Baker's memoirs continued from where "Growing Up" left off. Perhaps not quite as charming as the first installment, but only because boyhood always has more charms than adulthood, no matter how well the adult chronicles his memoirs. This is a worthy successor, though, and details Baker's career from newsboy to New York Times columnist. Baker is one of my favorite columnists, and I have always felt he had hidden talents that his column rarely brought out. These two memoirs support that belief.

2719 The Good Times, by Russell Baker (read 12 Mar 1995) I read this because of how much I appreciated Baker's superlative book, Growing Up, which I read 11 Apr 1986.. This book, The Good Times, covers his time in newspapering from when he was a paper boy to when he became a columnist for the New York Times in about 1961. It is a fascinating account, and I much admire Baker. For one thing, he is still married to the girl he first married and who only had a 10th grade education. His account of being in England when the Queen was crowned and his time as White House and Senate correspondent in the fifties and sixties are sheerly absorbing reading. The last paragraph, on his mother's death, is a classic. The man is a superlative journalist.

1990: excellent story growing up + newspaper boy to reporter
1996: 2nd part growing up — ok — family interesting @ LBJ

Russell Baker rose steadily, from newsboy to college paper, from police reporter to rewrite man, from White House correspondent to Washington columnist. In outline these stages read like a successful resume, but it is Baker's recall of detail that make the story live. Nothing was easy. Success never is. Behind every triumph lies a pitfall, behind every joy a hard lesson. Baker tells it all from the mean streets of Baltimore to a seat at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and from watching Ike fish to sharing LBJ's secrets.

Pulitzer Prize winning reporter talks about growing up in Baltimore MD in the 50'd; his first jobs as a reporter, and the famous people that he has covered.