Fierce Ambition

The Life and Legend of War Correspondent Maggie Higgins

By: Jennet Conant

Narrated by: EJ Lavery

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.

©2023 Jennet Conant (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Bland and tabloid-like

I expected and was hoping for so much more. It felt like I was listening to a tabloid article. And, now that I'm no longer a paying audible member I can't return it. A waste of money.

Off-putting focus

The tabloid-like nature of the majority of this story was very disappointing. I expected a more objective historical account without the heavy focus on scandal and improprieties.