Camera Never Blinks Twice: The Further Adventures of a Television Journalist Book

Reporting every night to more than 13 million people on the CBS Evening News, Dan Rather has been called "outrageous, outspoken, but never outclassed." In The Camera Never Blinks Twice he tells exhilarating and thought-provoking tales that provide ample evidence of why he's earned the reputation of premier newsman of his generation. In this book, Rather recounts his thrilling trek through Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion in 1980. He provides the full story behind his "confrontation" with Vice President George Bush over the Iran-contra scandal. And from Tiananmen Square to Red Square, from devastating floods in the Midwest to hurricanes in the Atlantic, he takes you with him as he scours the world for breaking stories and shows how and why what we see on our television screens winds up there. Here is his inside account of his interview with Saddam Hussein, the first by any American after the invasion of Kuwait. Here are his candid reflections on returning to Vietnam with General H. Norman Schwarzkopf - the first time back for both men. Here is a chance encounter with Mikhail Gorbachev inside the Kremlin. And here are his observations on the aftermath of the Cold War, the fall of the Wall in Berlin, and the present strife in the former Yugoslavia. Rather laces the narrative with short pieces on subjects ranging from encounters with two very different late-night dictators - Fidel Castro and David Letterman - to the real story behind the so-called "six-minute blackout" in Miami, the night CBS put the pope on hold to finish a tennis match. In The Camera Never Blinks Twice, Rather pays homage to some of the all-time greats of broadcasting - including Murrow and Sevareid - and to all the courageous journalists who risk their lives to bring home the news. And he doesn't pull any punches in his assessment of world leaders, government officials, the press - or himself.

With honesty and humor, Rather recounts his thrilling trek through Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion in 1980, tells the full story behind his confrontation with Vice President Bush over the Iran-Contra scandal, and writes his candid reflections on returning to Vietnam with General H. Norman Schwarzkopf.