Fierce Ambition: The Life and Legend of War Correspondent Maggie Higgins

Marguerite Higgins was both the scourge and envy of the journalistic world. A longtime reporter for the New York Herald Tribune, she first catapulted to 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. While the Herald Tribune exploited her feminine appeal--regularly featuring the photogenic "girl reporter" on its front pages--it was Maggie's dogged determination, talent for breaking news, and unwavering ambition that brought her success from one war zone to another. Her notoriety soared during the Cold War, and her daring dispatches from Korea garnered a Pulitzer Prize for foreign correspondence--the first granted to a woman for frontline reporting. A star reporter, she became part of the Kennedy brothers' Washington circle, though her personal alliances and politics provoked bitter feuds with male rivals, who vilified her until her untimely death. Drawing on new and extensive research, journalist and historian Jennet Conant restores Maggie's rightful place in history as a woman who paved the way for the next generation of journalists, and one of the greatest war correspondents of her time.

About the Author :
Jennet Conant is the author, most recently, of Fierce Ambition. Her other books include the New York Times bestselling Tuxedo Park, 109 East Palace, The Irregulars, The Great Secret, and the critically acclaimed Man of the Hour. She lives in Sag Harbor, New York. EJ Lavery grew up in the dying heartland of Michigan, the adopted daughter of Mexican migrant workers whose well-being was entrusted to the success of the Detroit auto industry. Raised an only child by her loving grandparents, EJ's imagination was fueled by the books they always found the money to buy her. The magic in the pages transformed the rural landscape into an adventure, and her dreamer's heart rewrote her story into something extraordinary. Persistently curious, EJ pursued a bachelor's degree in theater at the University of Michigan, and then a bachelor's degree in biology at the University of Massachusetts. She's explored lava tubes and glaciers in Iceland, wandered in the footsteps of Lord Byron in Croatia, followed the Von Trapp children through the Mirabell Gardens, and fangirled at the final resting place of Beethoven. When not spinning tales for the world, EJ can be found exploring the outdoors with her husband and her Australian Shepherd, Adelaide. With an ever-growing stack of books-to-be-read, she can still be seen perusing bookstores, listening to the beckoning whispers from the shelves of horror, mystery, true crime, and young adult tales. Even when the seconds are spare, EJ will still slip away for some quiet moments with her piano or cello.

Review :
"[A] mesmerizing, meticulously researched biography." -- "Wall Street Journal" "A career that was as illustrious as it was controversial...Conant chronicles Higgins' career in detail...A profile in Life made her 'the most famous war correspondent in the world.' An admiring, cleareyed portrait." -- "Kirkus Reviews" "Propulsive and high-spirited, this is a riveting depiction of a larger-than-life trailblazer." -- "Publishers Weekly" "The glamorous, accomplished twentieth-century war journalist Higgins...gets her due in this lively biography." -- "New York Times Book Review"