Walter Winchell, A Novel by Michael Herr

What he describes as “prose fiction”, Michael Herr, has written a quick paced portrait of Walter Winchell, a unique figure who invented the gossip column to the newspaper business.

Winchell, as a teenager, started his public life as a vaudevillian song and dance man of limited talent who found a niche as a press agent promoting shows. This led to a column in a show business newspaper which evolved into a column of gossip about show business, gangsters and politicians. A strong supporter of FDR Winchell also was early in identifying the menace Hitler posed to the world at large. Following WW II his political interests morphed into an anti-communism and in association with Roy Cohen he became a mouthpiece for Joe McCarthy’s “red scare” program. At the height of his success, Winchell’s column was in over 1000 newspapers and his weekly radio show had an audience of 50 million listeners.

Ultimately this is a story of stark ambition, narcissism, name calling, reckless insinuations that ring true in this age of Trump. That both Winchell and Trump became enamored with Roy Cohen solidifies this connection. The story spans the life and times of America from the roaring 20’s to the rise and fall of Richard Nixon.

Herr creates this story in a staccato like fashion, dominated by dialogue, reminiscent of the great work of George V. Higgins who wrote crime fiction made up wholly of dialogue. Herr, famous for his great book about Vietnam, Dispatches, also contributed screen writing credits for both Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. His talent for screenwriting is clearly on display in this novel. ( )