Douglas Brinkley presents the definitive, revealing biography of an American legend: renowned news anchor Walter Cronkite.

Includes index.

The making of a reporter. Missouri boy ; Houston youth ; Learning a trade ; Making of a unipresser -- The Second World War. Gearing up for Europe ; The writing Sixty-ninth ; Dean of the air war ; Gliding to V-E Day ; From the Nuremberg Trials to Russia -- Cold War broadcaster. Infancy of TV news ; Election night and UNIVAC ; Mr. CBS utility man ; The Huntley and Brinkley challenge ; Torch is passed ; New space frontier on CBS -- Anchorman. Anchorman of Camelot ; The Kennedy assassination ; Who's afraid of the Nielsen Ratings? ; Paley's attempted smackdown ; Civil rights and Project Gemini ; What to do about Vietnam? ; The Tet Offensive -- Top game. Calm and chaos of 1968 ; Mr. Moon Shot ; Avatar of Earth Day ; The Nixon-versus-CBS war ; Reportable truth in the age of Nixon ; Fan clubs, stalkers, and political good-byes ; A time to heal ; Live with Jimmy Carter -- The spokesperson. Retirement blues ; Struggling elder statesman ; Defiant liberal ; "The world's oldest reporter" ; The new millennium ; Electronic Uncle Sam.