mising childhood in a small town on the English-Scottish borders to a precocious high-flying career as a TV journalist, first in London, then New York.
During his working life, he has managed to extract revealing answers from tyrants and the oppressed, but never managed to coax his mother into admitting who his father was, even after her revelation to him, when he was in his 50s, that she had been raped, aged 15, by a priest.
Alongside his career, the search for his mother's abuser has haunted him, adding further layers of stress to a life already marked by alcoholism and insecurity.
This is his astonishing story, and one that deserves to sit alongside those of Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and David Brinkley. A compelling addition to EnvelopeBooks' "Media" and "Memoir" titles.