I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I just love Scott Pelley and the way he tells a story. While I skimmed much of this, I am looking forward to reading it cover to cover as he is an amazing storyteller.

This is must book for everyone. Pelley’s career has enabled him to tell stories that are well written and impactful. This book speaks to human values and principles that are all the more important at this time. He reminds of us our basic human rights, freedom of the press and speech. Read this book and talk about it with friends and family. It won’t disappoint.

Hanover Square Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter's Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times. I chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

The introduction was my favorite part of this book, as the sentiment, in tone and content, was the Scott Pelley that gave me my evening national news for years. As clear, concise, and powerful the introduction was, not the same could be said for the majority of the essays in Truth Worth Telling. In an attempt to be completely transparent in his reporting, Pelley gave too much detail about each of his stories. This oversharing took away from the emotional content and lost me as a reader. I was hoping for more, so I was disappointed as a result. Truth Worth Telling was Pelley's opportunity to tell the meaning behind the stories, as it says in the title, but I really did not gain much insight to the man because of this book. For the reasons I have listed above, I would hesitate to recommend Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter's Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times to other readers.

I was given a free copy of the book from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Scott Pelley is a great storyteller. However, he has to go political in this book. Stick to reporting the news, not telling us your opinion on the news. Ruined the whole thing for me. That's my truth worth telling. #TruthWorthTelling

Scott Pelley is a fantastic journalist and so it's no surprise that he wrote such a fantastic and insightful book. Reading about his experiences was truly worthwhile.

Scott Pelley writes well, and it's interesting to read of people he has encountered who have helped shape the world during my lifetime. He also draws links between people and events that cause me to think more about our interconnectedness.

Familiar stories told with a unique viewpoint

We all know most of the stories in this book, but what is unique is the personal viewpoint of Scott Pelley. Right up front, I’m going to confess that I don’t care for the book when he descends into political discussion and partisan opinions, because I’d prefer that the book be wholly unbiased in an old-fashioned journalistic manner. But we are all biased in one way or another about every aspect of our life, and Scott Pelley, for the most part, manages in much of the book to not only be unbiased, but to speak respectfully and often favorably of players from the “other side.” That counts for a lot with me, because I am so tired of the vitriolic divide in our country’s politics. That frustration almost kept me from reading this book, and I’m so glad that it didn’t. Sorry, but I’m a firm believer in “I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”

Yes, we know these stories. For instance, I watched the horrors of 9/11 as a grad student with a young child and wondered what the world had become. I saw the people leaping from the building, the papers fluttering down, heard stories from my sister in DC about miraculous ways her students’ parents just happened to not be in the Trade Center or Pentagon or in someone else’s office. Deliverance was a forgotten lunch, a dentist appointment, stepping into a colleague’s office, and other minor acts of life. But the way that Scott Pelley relates it with the stories of individual victims, firefighters, first responders, etc., and the statistics that we’ve forgotten over the years. I can’t tell you how many times I found myself weeping and remembering those figures marching through the ash clouds, flames gouting from buildings, small figures leaping into the abyss, those words spoken on cell phones to reach loved ones, phrases launching brave people into an attack on our attackers… What a powerful way to start the book.

And the stories just go on, so many incredible heart-wrenching, mind-opening stories. Whether presidents, soldiers, doctors, inventors, rock stars, popes, Wall Street hucksters, etc., just so many stories and so much data and information. And about a third of the way through… a lesson in gratitude and a witness to Scott Pelley’s perseverance and strength of character. That was worth the book in and of itself.

I utterly loved what Bruce Springsteen had to say during his interview:

“It’s unpatriotic to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to the place that you love so dearly, the place that has given me so much, and that I believe in. I still feel and see us as a beacon of hope and possibility. There’s a part of the singer, going way back in American history, that is the canary in the coal mine. When it gets dark, you’re supposed to be singing. It’s dark right now. And so, I went back to Woody Guthrie and Dylan and Pete Seeger. Seeger didn’t want to know how a song sounds, he wanted to know, ‘what’s the song for?’”

At the end of our interview, I asked, “In your opinion, at this moment in this country, what needs to be said?” When you read Springsteen’s answer, remember this was 2007, not 2019. “I think we live in a time when what is true can be made to seem a lie and what is a lie can be made to seem true. And I think that the successful manipulation of those things has characterized several of our past elections. That level of hubris and arrogance has got us in the mess that we’re in right now. And we’re in a mess. But if we subvert the best things that we’re about, in the name of protecting our freedoms, if we remove them, then, who are we becoming? The American idea is a beautiful idea. It needs to be preserved, served, protected and sung out. Sung out! That’s what I’m going to do.”


I kept reading passages to my family and making my book glow with a thousand yellow highlights of passages I wanted to remember, including the quote below from Scott Pelley himself (he was careful to note elsewhere that he never reported anything that could put someone or an operation at risk. He was very careful to censor himself.) He just doesn’t believe the government has the right to censor journalists, just as our founding fathers didn’t.

“The word democracy is a mashup of the Greek demos and kratia, meaning “the people rule.” Citizens cannot rule what they cannot see. When reporting is barred from the battlefield, the people no longer rule.” (Again, please note, he’s not advocating reporting anything that would put an operation at risk, but simply letting the people know what is going on and how the conflict is progressing, etc. There’s a fine line in there.)

If you have any interest in history, any of the events discussed, journalism, or a lesson in perseverance, this book is for you.

At this politically divisive time, Scott Pelley tells the story of his life as a reporter by highlighting those reports that remind the reader of the values that most make them Americans. He weaves his professional experiences both at home and abroad with his personal story, the story of crafting news reports, and the stories of regular people who exemplify those American Values. Pelley makes the point that his will not be a partisan story. And in his deft hands the most sensitive of situations is described with delicacy, straightforwardness, honesty, and kindness.

Scott Pelley an excellent reporter is now a compelling author.Sharing with us the stories he covered from tragedies to rockstars.He brings us in the people the moments in time a terrific read a look at our world through Scott’s reporters eyes.#netgalley #harlequinbooks

Don’t ask the meaning of life. Life is asking, what’s the meaning of you?

Journalist, Scott Pelley, is someone I have always respected. And counted on to give us the news and the story behind the news. The Truth.

Scott gives us true accounts of people changed forever by the events like The World Trade Center bombing, 9/11, fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq.

I found his telling of his own and others experiences on 9/11 to be difficult to read. The book is raw and unforgettable. Pelley has a writing style that is equal to his reporting style and that made this both a heartbreaking read and a profound one.

Free Speech and what it means for the people. Why it is the most important thing at all times and especially at this moment in history. A Free Press is part of the checks and balances that we must have in a democracy.


For readers who believe values matter and truth is worth telling, Pelley writes, “I have written this book for you.”  Scott Pelley

NetGalley/ Harlequin Hanover May 21, 2019

In case you weren’t aware of how much of their lives journalists put on the line when they cover stories, this book will be an eye opener. Scott Pelley takes us on his journey covering everything from rock stars to national tragedies to international war stories. He also shares his knowledge to aspiring writers and journalists. The takeaway from that is it’s better to be right than first on a breaking story. Very well written memoir by this award winning journalist.

I received an electronic ARC from HARLEQUIN/Hanover Square Press through NetGalley.
Pelley shares vignettes from his reporting years to demonstrate various character traits. He brings readers into areas he has covered and sites he has seen. His writing style captures what he has seen and observed covering the news.
He makes a strong point for independent journalism which presents facts - however uncomfortable they may be. The writing wa slow moving at times but the messages were solidly presented. From 9/11 to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, descriptive text allows the reader to see through Pelley's eyes and reach their own conclusions.
I recommend this book for those who want to view history through a journalist's life.

I was unable to finish this autobiography because the first person accounting of distressing/terrorist events was too upsetting. If this type of thing does not bother you, then you should enjoy Mr. Pelle's stories.

Pelley delivers what we have come to expect from him - a no-nonsense reporter's lense that is trained on the moments that define our democracy in the modern world. What is delightful is the in-depth and personal commentary that he is free to liberally supply in this format. Not constrained by airtime, he is free to rift and describe and relate anecdotal treasures that color the landscape of his remarkable insider experience on an impressively wide range of stories, locations and people. There is something here that will resonate with everyone - pick one story or read them all.

A book we need right now about journalism, its importance and its costs. Scott Pelley is a trusted reporter and his account is both interesting and surprising.