Forgive Us Our Press Passes: The Memoirs of a Veteran Washington Reporter

For three decades Waldman covered ``the comedy and drama and heartache'' of major national events for the New York-area newspaper Newsday. Bloody Vietnam -War protests, grueling presidential campaigns and the ``luscious'' Iran-Contra story are among those Waldman briskly recounts here. Dead-serious journalistic persistence and stratagems for reaching sources are leavened by such vignettes as President Ford being locked out of his own press conference, vice-presidential candidate Nelson Rockefeller covertly eating Oreo cookies at his confirmation hearing and actress Elizabeth Taylor booing her U.S. senator husband at a GOP meeting. A delightful, only-in-America personal saga by a seasoned news hawk--now Newsday' s national congressional reporter--grateful for the job he loves. (Aug.)