The Life and Legend of War Correspondent Maggie Higgins
Join Michael in his conversation with Jennet Conant about her new book, Fierce Ambition: The Life and Legend of War Correspondent Maggie Higgins which tells the remarkable story of Maggie Higgens, the first Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent.
About Our Guest
Jennet started her career as a journalist at Newsweek covering business, technology, and cultural affairs. She later wrote for GQ, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and the New York Times before turning to writing non-fiction full-time. She has written seven books about World War II: Fierce Ambition: The Life and Legend of War Correspondent Maggie Higgins, The Great Secret: The Classified World War II Disaster that Launched the War on Cancer, Man of the Hour: James B. Conant – Warrior Scientist, Tuxedo Park: A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science that Changed the Course of WWII, 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos, The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington, and A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS.
An interesting footnote is that Jennet is the granddaughter of James Bryant Conant, one of the leaders of the Manhattan Project and President of Harvard University.
About Maggie Higgins
Marguerite Higgins catapulted to journalistic fame with her dramatic account of the liberation of Dachau at the end of World War II. Brash, beautiful, ruthlessly competitive, and sexually adventurous, she forced her way to the front despite being told the combat zone was no place for a woman. Her headline-making exploits earned her a reputation for bravery bordering on recklessness and accusations of “advancing on her back,” trading sexual favors for scoops. Her notoriety soared during the Cold War, and her daring dispatches from Korea garnered a Pulitzer Prize. A star reporter, she became close to the Kennedy brothers, but provoked bitter rivalries with male correspondents who vilified her until her untimely death. In Fierce Ambition, journalist and historian Jennet Conant digs into Maggie’s turbulent life and shines a spotlight on her legacy―her trailblazing career, unwavering courage, and refusal to sacrifice success to fit gender expectations.
