now it can be told

One shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, I know. Nevertheless…

David Halberstam was a nasty human being and a miserable piece of shit. Everyone is writing laudatory things about his journalism. Fine. Whatever. He was obnoxious and wretched to everyone he worked with behind the scenes in New York City—from editors at the New York Times Book Review to editors at his many different publishing houses (he moved around a lot, because no one wanted to work with him twice).

Also: he was a good reporter, but he was a terrible, terrible writer. Couldn’t write his way out of a paper bag.

Thanks for listening. Now I feel much better.