Outrage, Passion, and Uncommon Sense: How Editorial ... (ISBN 0792241975)

Fascinating and Astonishing:
There are many indelible words and images in this groundbreaking book that looks at how American editorial writers have handled the big issues: race, death, freedoms, politics, and more. Consider the angry screed written in 1961 by segregationist Jimmy Ward, editor of the Jackson (MS) Daily News, calling the freedom riders "puppets" and "riot-inciting professionals." It appears next to a close-up photo of a badly beaten freedom rider, his eyes swollen shut. Or the 122-word verdict on the "worthless" life of murderer Leonard Edwards that ran in the Philadelphia Daily News in 1975, ending with the curt demand: "Fry him." Or the lyrical, heartbreaking editorial that William Allen White of The Emporia (KS) Daily Gazette wrote when his 16-year-old daughter was killed in a riding accident. "Outrage, Passion & Uncommon Sense" is full of excellent writing, evocative photographs, forgotten history, and well-remembered history, recalled in a fresh way with original editorials that ran within hours or days of the event. It's a wonder that no one has attempted such a book before. What a useful book for journalism students or any student of American history!