Good Day!: The Paul Harvey Story
Paul Batura
Category: Nonfiction:
Biography
Synopsis: Batura fleshes
out Paul Harvey’s long history in the radio world.
Date finished: (approx.)
27 December 2013
Rating: ***½
Comments:
I wanted to love this book, because I love Paul Harvey. I
grew up listening to his “Rest of the Story” stories at lunchtime (in the
summer, anyway). He could tell a good story. And he was clever. He reminded me
of the men I grew up around, grandfathers and uncles who were honest, strong,
church-going, and patriotic. He embodied all of the best parts of American
characteristics.
This book didn’t undermine that perception at all. Batura is
obviously a fan of Harvey’s. There was no dishing, no unsavory surprises. It
would seem Harvey was exactly who we all thought Harvey was.
The trouble is, the book wasn’t particularly well-written.
And the editing was terrible-with-a-capital-T. Batura was writing this book at
the time that Harvey passed away. And being the first biography of Harvey’s
life, he and his publishers were likely in a huge hurry to get it printed. They
seemed to skip editing altogether. And it shows. I have little tolerance for
that, so my patience wore thin.
Still, I learned quite a bit about the man who is a
broadcasting icon. I think it’s safe to say that never again will we have
another Paul Harvey on the radio.
Some Harvey facts:
- Harvey was born Paul Harvey Aurandt in 1918 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- He started in radio in 1933. That year he also became a licensed pilot.
- Paul and his new bride, “Angel,” were in the radio business in Hawaii, but returned home on December 5, 1941—two days before the Pearl Harbor attack. (Awful timing for a newsman!)
- Harvey would eventually command $30,000 per appearance.
- Paul Harvey Jr. became a concert pianist and was responsible for writing “The Rest of the Story” stories.
- In November 2000, Harvey signed an unprecedented 10-yr $100 million contract. He was 82-years-old.
- President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
- Harvey died in 2009 at age 90.
Would you recommend
this to a friend?
There is another biography of Harvey called Paul Harvey’s America, and I couldn’t
decide which to read, perhaps that book is better.
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