Leaving On the Horse He Rode In On

“‘I realized I could spend the rest of my life thinking about ways that I might have handled the Jayson Blair scandal rather than ordering the publication of the 7,400-word story that I read while John McPhee cast his fly tirelessly from the bow of Mike Padua’s boat. … ‘” From his new book, that’s part of Howell Raines’s summary retrospective on the scandal that ended his career at the NYT. Reviewer Elizabeth Spears suggests that Howell Raines might have put more effort into emotional richness.