Harry, Teddy & Whit

Thomas Griffith Harry & Teddy: The Turbulent Friendship of Press Lord Henry R. Luce & His Favorite Reporter, Theodore H. White.
Random House, 340 pages, $24

reviewed by Terry Teachout

Once upon a time, Theodore White, author of the Making of the President series and celebrity journalist par excellence, was a hungry young reporter sniffing around for a scoop and a patron. He found the first in China and the second in Henry Luce, editor and publisher of Time, who made White a star before breaking with him over the magazine’s policy toward Chiang Kai-shek. All this is well known to amateur historians of American journalism, but it still makes for a good story, especially when recounted by one who knew the principals. Thomas Griffith, an old Luce hand who was assistant managing editor of Time and, later, editor of Life, has chosen to occupy himself in retirement by telling the tale...