Carl Bernstein’s memoir traces his path to Watergate

Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom. By Carl Bernstein. Henry Holt; 352 pages; $29.99

THIS ENGAGING memoir recounts how Carl Bernstein earned his chops as a young newspaperman in the years before, with Bob Woodward, he became one of the world’s most renowned investigative journalists after exposing the Watergate scandal. It begins in 1960 when the 16-year-old, a far from diligent student, wangles a part-time job as a copy boy at the Washington Star, the capital’s evening newspaper. Mr Bernstein’s father, a public-sector union leader, pulls strings to get the lad an interview. Skills learned at an all-girls’ typing class, and his own persistence, secure him the role. Glimpsing the organised mayhem of the newsroom, he realises that this is the industry for him.