Personal History

By Katharine Graham

Categories: Biographies & Memoirs

Personal History is the 1997 autobiography of Katharine Graham, who led The Washington Post through the Pentagon Papers case and Watergate. Graham describes a privileged but lonely childhood, her family's ownership of the Post from 1933, and her marriage to Philip Graham, a confidant of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson whose mental illness ended in suicide. She traces how she went from housewife to head of a major publishing company, facing a male-dominated industry and the 1975–76 pressmen's strike.

Recommended by 5 people

• Warren Buffett
• Bill Gates: “If you want to learn even more about her incredible life, I recommend starting with the new documentary Becoming Katharine Graham before reading Personal History.”
• Ryan Holiday
• Marc Andreessen: “Currently reading:”
• Shane Parrish: “This episode is full of practical lessons I learned reading her memoir, Personal History.”