I could google a lot of these people, but I wasn't interested enough in their fates to do it. There were quite a few pieces in the book that were engaging to read but lacked context as they were quite 'of the moment' when they were written- very granular to his particular place and position at the time he wrote them (lots of commentary on other newspaper and writers doing very specific things) and there is quite a bit about the Clinton administration. I'd never really knew much about David Carr, but enjoyed this book of snippets of writing from his career as a noted journalist and memoir writer. It is not easy to admit that about yourself and it illustrates how honest Carr was. The chapter on Bill Crosby was really well handled. The grouping of the content was done in a mostly chronological way - well it was grouped by what it was written for, which was roughly chronological. I loved the former intern's Forward- and that made it fun to see his name mentioned in the later articles. For a book of collected writing, I am always going to read the forwards and intros and all of the front and back of the book before I settle into reading it. I wonder who he got to be guest speakers? Even though there is a lot in this book, it left me wanting more. His direct way of explaining the course requirements were a rich read. The chapter on his course syllabus was so meaty, I want to use it to explore.

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2020 (I would have loved to have taken his college course) Lots of topics to explore. God, I miss him.” -Jake Tapper, CNN - About the Author Lovingly curated by his wife, Final Draft allows us to read decades of David’s best reportage about corruption, racism, celebrity, addiction, disease, and his love for his family, his skills only outdone by his humanity. And for the rest of his life I was so proud every time he said - classic Carrism - I'd picked him up after he he'd fallen off a turnip truck.” -Kurt Andersen, Studio 360 “Wit, style, empathy, tough questions - it’s all here, in this collection by the one-man journalism school that was David Carr. I read David Carr's clips and immediately fell in love, met him and fell in love some more, then instantly hired him to come along on that adventure. Read this delicious book and you will glimpse the other part: what a good, generous man David Carr was.” -Ken Auletta, author of Frenemies 'A revelatory collection reminding us of what journalism used to be-and what it ought to be.' -Kirkus, STARRED review 'Readers will appreciate having this wide-ranging sample of Carr’s inimitable perspective on American life.' -Publishers Weekly, STARRED review “I was so lucky 20 years ago to get a note from a Washington journalist I didn't know whose work I'd never read who was interested in working at my new online publication in New York that didn't yet exist. And for those who knew him, his prose is only part of what made Carr special. Pick your subject: Bill Clinton? Press blowhards? Washington insiders? Fox News? Silicon Valley? Julian Assange? He is always provocative, though never gratuitous. As this book attests, his interests ranged wide. He is never predictable, a disease infecting most columnists.

“Reading David Carr again is a reminder of how much we miss him.

Final draft paper