Good Times, Bad Times by Harold Evans

Good Times, Bad Times Reviews

• 
  FiveBooks

  Investigative journalist Nick Davies has chosen to discuss Harold Evans's
  Good Times, Bad Times, on
  FiveBooks as one of the top five on his subject - Investigative Journalism, saying that:
  
  “Harry Evans was a really wonderful editor – and a fantastic journalist. If you asked British journalists today who they think is the best journalist of all time I imagine a large proportion would say Harry Evans, straight off. The reason he was so good was that he understood reporting, which many editors don’t, and he really loved reporting, which many editors don’t. He would never back away from a fight.”
  
  The full interview is available here:
  http://five-books.com/interviews/nick-davies
• 
  Dio Dwianto

  A very interesting read where I learned a lot about the inner workings of the newspaper industry. Harold Evans, with considerable charm, wit, and sound judgement, shared his experience of good old fashioned investigative journalistic crusade during his reign as the editor of The Sunday Times, fending off external pressures from government and corporations. The second part of his story revolves around his year as the editor of The Times under the proprietorship of Rupert Murdoch immediately after his emergence as the victor of the take-over battle for the news organization. This time he struggled with various adversaries from within, while he attempted the huge undertaking of transforming the lagging daily, trying his hardest to maintain its journalistic integrity at the same time. This book bolstered my respect for journalism and opened my eyes to the challenges of running a newspaper, such as the hazards that could be posed by the power abuse of trade unions, like demarcation disputes. Also, gotta love those classic British sarcasms!
• 
  Sue Russell

  I had always loved/admired Harold Evans, admired his work with the London Sunday Times Insight team, and found this account of his years at the ST and at the Times riveting at the time. Evans was editor of the year in 1973 after the ST ran a series of articles on Thalidomide and triumphed over the suppression efforts of the House of Lords. He appealed to the European Court of Human Rights and succeeded. He edited the ST from 1967 and The Times from 1981-1982, ultimately resigning one year after Rupert Murdoch bought the paper.
  
  This is the inside scoop by a great storyteller and covers his most celebrated investigations (Kim Philby's unveiling as a Soviet spy, etc.) and his face-off with Murdoch. Also, Margaret Thatcher's role in allowing Murdoch's entry into the hallowed halls at Gray's Inn Road.
  
  The book smells of newsprint and Fleet Street and London and was to me irresistible. Now, in light of recent events involving Murdoch it seems prescient and time to pull it off the shelves and revisit the start of it all. Bottom line, while I honestly don't remember when I read this book I do remember that it is just an awfully good read.
• 
  Matt Zeitlin

  This book really just makes you want to hang out with Harry Evans
• 
  John

  With Murdoch back in the headlines with Hacking, this book shows how Murdoch of 30 years ago was the same ruthless businessman that he is today