From Randy Olson: Tragic Loss: A Truly Great American Writer, David Halberstam

Two of my favorite writers of all time, Kurt Vonnegut and now David Halberstam, have died in the past month. In the spring of 1985, as I was a postdoc studying starfish larval ecology in Australia, I read The Powers That Be and it changed my whole perception of the American media world. David Halberstam was a powerful writer and a truly masterful storyteller--able to take the mundane facts of our world, find the drama, and weave them into stories that revealed the depth of human character. Are there many storytellers left these days who can do such things so skillfully? If you have an interest in the media, I urge you to read The Powers That Be. Among the many fascinating tales, it tells the deeper, sadder story of the life of Edward R. Murrow than what you saw in George Clooney's (albeit excellent) film.