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The Story of Tata: 1868 to 2021 | An authorized account of the Tata family and their companies with exclusive interviews with Ratan Tata | Non-fiction Biography, Penguin Books Hardcover – March 1, 2022

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The first and only authorized biography on Tata Group including the Tata-Mistry legal battle, exclusive interviews with Ratan Tata, and never-before-seen photographs of the Tata family. In 1868, Jamsetji Tata, a visionary of his time, lit the flame that went on to become Tata and its group of companies. This business grew into an extraordinary one. One that some may even call 'the greatest company in the world'. Over the decades, the business expanded and prospered under the leadership of the various keepers of the flame, such as Sir Dorabji Tata, J.R.D. Tata and Ratan Tata, to name a few. But one day, the headlines boldly declared that the chairman of the board of Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry, had been fired. What went wrong? In this exclusive and authorized book, insiders of the Tata businesses open up to Peter Casey for the first time to tell the story. From its humble beginnings as a mercantile company to its growth as a successful yet philanthropic organization to its recent brush with Mistry, this is a book that every business- minded individual must read.

• Print length 228 pages
• Language English
• Publisher India Viking
• Publication date March 1, 2022
• Dimensions 5.08 x 1 x 7.8 inches
• ISBN-10 0670090220
• ISBN-13 978-0670090228
• See all details

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ India Viking (March 1, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 228 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0670090220
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670090228
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 1 x 7.8 inches
• #145 in Corporate Governance
• #480 in International Economics (Books)
• #1,949 in Business Professional's Biographies

About the author

Peter casey.

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The Story of Tata

Peter casey, select preferred format, buying options, paperback / hardback.

The first and only authorized biography on Tata Group including the Tata-Mistry legal battle, exclusive interviews with Ratan Tata, and never-before-seen photographs of the Tata family.

In 1868, Jamsetji Tata, a visionary of his time, lit the flame that went on to become Tata and its group of companies. This business grew into an extraordinary one. One that some may even call ‘the greatest company in the world’. Over the decades, the business expanded and prospered under the leadership of the various keepers of the flame, such as Sir Dorabji Tata, J.R.D. Tata and Ratan Tata, to name a few. But one day, the headlines boldly declared that the chairman of the board of Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry, had been fired.

What went wrong?

In this exclusive and authorized book, insiders of the Tata businesses open up to Peter Casey for the first time to tell the story. From its humble beginnings as a mercantile company to its growth as a successful yet philanthropic organization to its recent brush with Mistry, this is a book that every business- minded individual must read.

Imprint: India Viking

Published: Aug/2021

ISBN: 9780670090228

Length : 228 Pages

MRP : ₹699.00

Imprint: Audiobook

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Peter Casey is founder and executive chairman of Claddagh Resources, a global recruitment and search business that places high-level executives with many of the world's Fortune 500 companies. Having established successful business interests in Australia and Ireland, Peter set up Claddagh Resources in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1995. Claddagh currently operates on four continents. Peter was named by Irish America magazine as one of the leading Irish-American businessmen for 2007. He has had a wide portfolio of business interests, including commercial, residential and agricultural property in Ireland. His approach to business is simple-he likes to invest in people. Peter is also an accomplished writer and a political and business commentator, with articles published regularly in Ireland and the United States. He is best known, perhaps, as an investor on the Irish television programme Dragons' Den , in which he is one of the Dragons. He tweets with the handle @TheDragonPeter. You can find out more about his work at www.petercasey.ie. Peter lives in Atlanta with his wife, Helen, and their five children, and divides his time between there and his family home in Derry. Outside work he enjoys playing golf badly!

More By The Author

Greatest Company in the World? The Story of Tata, The

What had moved Ratan to leave America and return to India to begin a career in the Tata organization?

If you’re looking for a real glimpse into the history of Tata, here is an exclusive excerpt from the first and only authorised biography on the Tata Group. This book includes the Tata-Mistry legal battle, exclusive interviews with Ratan Tata, and never-before-seen photographs of the Tata family. Happy reading! ~ Ratan was not anxious to […] Read More -->

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The best books written and recommended by Ratan Tata to add to your reading list

One of the most powerful industrialists alive, Ratan Tata continues to influence hoards of youngsters around the world. But what motivates Tata to achieve all that he has? Take a look at the books that the self-made business magnate has authored and recommends to decode his mantra to success.

Ratan Tata , who was recently awarded the Order of Australia, is the mastermind behind one of India’s largest conglomerates — The Tata Group. An exemplary philanthropist, he once famously said, “Businesses need to go beyond the interest of their companies to the communities they serve.”

Naturally, the visionary’s fans have often wondered about his reading preferences. He had addressed them in the past with his recommendation of The Art of Racing in the Rain. Apart from that, the honorary holder of Padma Vibhushan has also authored two books — From Steel to Cellular (2005) and The Wit & Wisdom of Ratan Tata (2018). That’s not all. Tata penned the foreword for a book titled Getting India Back On Track .

Additionally, there are multiple books, which have been written about the industrialist and his multi-millionaire businesses. The TATAS by Girish Kuber, Ratan N. Tata: The Authorized Biography by Thomas Mathew, and Business Kohinoor: Ratan Tata by B.C. Pandey are some prime examples.

Tata’s writings and book recommendations offer a fascinating insight into the world of entrepreneurship as well as life lessons that the iconic industrialist has picked up over the course of his long career. Take a closer look at these books to understand what they can offer you as a reader.

Ratan Tata books to read along with his recommendations

The wit & wisdom of ratan tata.

Beaming with Tata’s profundity and perspective on a wide range of subjects, The Wit & Wisdom of Ratan Tata is a captivating collection of quotations by the man who redefined Tata Groups. It narrates the adventures and lessons of his life in his words. This book showcases his modesty, frugality, kindness, learning curve, intellectual intrigue and defining moments.

Getting India Back On Track: An Action Agenda for Reform

Co-edited by Bibek Debroy, Ashley J Tellis and Reece Trevor, Getting India Back On Track contains a foreword by Tata. In the moving piece at the beginning of the book, he wrote that it is high time that our nation cemented its place as a major global, political and economic player.

Published by Random House India, the book evaluates the prospects and difficulties that India is facing at the moment. Additionally, it embraces the country’s internal as well as international challenges and offers the government of India a path plan to lead the country forward.

Leading names in the policy space, such as Ila Patnaik, Surjit Bhalla, C Raja Mohan, Omkar Goswami and Ashok Gulati, are just a few of the contributors.

The Art of Racing in The Rain

The New York Times bestseller by Garth Stein is a seminal tale that projects a pet dog’s compassion for his owner, Denny Swift. The book delivers a range of human emotions through the lens of an animal. The bond between the pet and his parent defines how true love between two souls can never really end.

The fiction novel was adapted into a movie with the same title in 2019. It starred Kevin Costner, Milo Ventimiglia and Jackie Minns.

Ratan Tata’s take on the book — Following Tata’s debut on Instagram in 2019, the Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus shared a series of stories saying, “A lot of you requested my book preferences and while there are many to be shared The Art of Racing in The Rain by Garth Stein is the one I truly cherish. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.”

According to an ET Times report, “This 2008 novel combines Tata’s two great loves – dogs and cars . His passion for cars and affection for the canine community are well-documented facts.”

From Steel to Cellular

Published by Pentagon Press in 2005, From Steel to Cellular is authored by the industrialist-philanthropist himself. The book, which is an account of Tata’s success, follows the self-made leader’s uphill journey and decodes how he maintained his conglomerate with more than 80 firms and a revenue of more than INR 40,000 crores.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Answer: Ratan Tata cherishes reading ‘The Art of Racing in the Rain’.

Answer: ​'The Wit & Wisdom of Ratan Tata' is one of the most comprehensive books on Ratan Tata's life

Answer: Ratan Tata always advises one to stay humble no matter how much success they have achieved.

Priyanshi Agrawal

Travel, lifestyle, wellness, and finance writer, Priyanshi is somebody who gorges on self-help and mythology reads, follows fitness trends, and stalks some famous travellers. She has two years of experience working with travel, hospitality, and tech companies. Travelling acts as a spark in her relationship with writing.

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Beyond The Last Blue Mountain

Read the authorised biography of the legendary former chairman of the Tata group, JRD Tata.

Frist published 1992     |     513 pages     |     R M Lala

An exhaustive and unforgettable portrait of India’s greatest and most respected industrialist. Written by R M Lala with JRD Tata’s co-operation, this superb biography tells the JRD story from his birth to 1993, the year in which he died in Switzerland.

The book is divided into four parts: Part I deals with the early years, from JRD’s birth in France in 1904 to his accession to the chairmanship of Tatas, India’s largest industrial conglomerate, at the age of thirty-four; Part II looks at his forty-six years in Indian aviation (the lasting passion of JRD’s life) which led to the initiation of the Indian aviation industry and its development into one of India’s success stories; Part III illuminates his half-century-long stint as the outstanding personality of Indian industry; and Part IV unearths hitherto unknown details about the private man and the public figure, including glimpses of his long friendships with such people as Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and his association with celebrities in India and abroad.

The book is available on Kindle and on hard copy (Amazon).

Why not stay in touch?

Every week, we bring you a selection of stories that offer insight into the Tata group’s businesses, community initiatives, rich heritage and diverse workforce. 

Occasionally, emails will contain promotional content from our group companies and partners, special offers or discounts. However, we will not share your email ID or other identifiable data with any third party. We follow an authentication process that requests you for your consent before we add you to our database.

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JRD Tata: In Conversation

116 years of jrd tata.

The Tata Story - 150 Years 1868-2018

Anthony A.J. Tata Books In Order

Publication order of captain jake mahegan books, publication order of garrett sinclair books, publication order of threat books, publication order of the reaper books.

A.J. Tata is one of the well known American authors, who likes to write his books based on the action, thriller, and military fiction genres. He is particularly famous for writing down the popular novel series called the Threat series and the Captain Jake Mahegan series. Author Tata is also known by the names Anthony J. Tata and Tony Tata. Prior to becoming an author, he used to serve in the United States Army. From there, he retired as a Brigadier General and then found his second career as a novelist. The military career of author Tata lasted for a span of 28 years, between the years 1981 and 2009. After his retirement, he began working as a Secretary of the Department of Transportation in North Carolina. He served in this post between the years 2013 and 2015 under Pat McCrory’s Governance. During the tenure of this job, author Tata had also started writing novels simultaneously. As a novelist, the subject matter of most of the author Tata’s books is based on the life of the military personnels. The Threat Series is the best example of this. Author Tata began writing this series in the year 2008. He even released the debut book of the series in the same year and became a published author. The series is based on the life of two fictional characters named Zachary and Matt Garrett, who serve in the military. These two men are depicted as brothers by author Tata. In all, author Tata has published 4 books in the series till now. All the novels of the series encompass the published works of author Tata’s writing, which he has compiled based on his personal experience in the military. Following the success of the first book, titled Sudden Threat, author Tata donated a sum total of $27,000 from his proceeds of the novel to a fund of Wounded Warriors.

In the year 1981, Tata obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy. Later, he went on to earn his Master of Arts degree from the American Catholic University in the subject of International Relations. He also obtained an attached Master’s degree in Military Science and Arts in the subject of Strategic Planning from the Advanced Military Studies School of the U.S. Army. Following this, author Tata served at the J.F. Kennedy Government School at the Harvard University as a Fellow of National Security. Between the years 2006 and 2007, author Tata served as a deputy to the Commanding General of the forces of the United States in Afghanistan. He also served a couple of duty tours along with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. Later on in his military, Tata also became a Brigadier General. For his dedicated service in the U.S. Army, author Tata was awarded the Bronze Star and the Combat Action Badge. His other accomplishments include being a graduate of the Ranger School of the United States Army. After completing his time in the military, author Tata served as the COO of the Public Schools of the District of Columbia as well as the Superintendent of the Public School System of the Wake County. His attempt to become a published author also served him well as he went on to become a successful novelist of military fiction books. Author Tata has donated hundred proceeds from the series to the fund of wounded military personnel at an Army Medical Center. One of the books written by author Tata was nominated as a finalist for the prestigious Barry Award in the category of the Best Thriller Novel.

The Captain Jake Mahegan series written by author A.J. Tata consists of 3 books in total. The first two books of this series were released between the years 2015 and 2016, while the third book is expected to be published in early 2017. Author Tata published the debut novel under the title ‘Foreign and Domestic’. This book was released by the Pinnacle publication in the year 2015. The plot of this book introduces the central character of Captain Jake Mahegan. The initial sequence of the book shows that Captain Mahegan was involved in a mission around a year ago in which he had led a team of Delta Force in Afghanistan in order to capture a traitor from America who was believed to be working for the Taliban. But the mission did not go as they had planned. In fact, it caused a lot of tragedy to all of them. During the course of that mission, the Delta Force team was infiltrated and bombed by the terrorists. It had resulted in the death of an enemy prisoner. The tragedy did not stop there. Captain Mahegan was dishonored and dismissed from his service forever. Now at the present time, Captain Mahegan is shown as still being haunted by that incident. He seems to be very determined to set things right and clear his name. But, the military does not want him to do anything. When Captain Mahegan learns that the American Taliban has returned to the American soil along with the traitor that caused him great destruction, he sets out to take vengeance. Captain Mahegan knows that he is the only man who could stop these men. But, he has to do it in his own way.

The next installment of the series is titled as Three Minutes to Midnight’. It was published by the Kensington publishers in the year 2016. In this book, Captain Mahegan is once again shown as undergo an ultimate test and deal with a terrifying scenario. The starting scene of the plot shows that an officer of Army Reserve named Captain Maeve Cassidy working as a geologist gets kidnapped by the Taliban. She was returning from her visit to Afghanistan when a security breach at Fort Bragg resulted in her disappearance. The kidnapping is believed to be the initial step of a large scale domestic attack on the Americans. The veteran from Delta Force, Captain Mahegan is asked to deal with the case and find Captain Cassidy. Mahegan is already on a personal mission, trying to find the killer of his mother in North Carolina. When he learns about the kidnapping, he wonders whether it is connected to the man he is chasing. Soon, a couple of nuclear plants get attacked in the nearby areas within a span of a few days. This makes it clear that the two cases are very much related. The attack is considered to be a brilliantly conceived one that was not foreseen by any intelligence analyst in the entire nation. When Maegan comes to that another nuclear plant is set as a target, he sets his plan in motion. He knows that his plan is not foolproof, but he has no other choice. The nation will fall if he fails. However, his determination is what keeps him going as the Armageddon begins.

6 Responses to “Anthony A.J. Tata”

I became a fan of Antony Tata since we met and he autographed a copy of Besieged for me. I keep that book in my library permanently. To me, Jake Mahegan is equivalent to Jack Reacher and other Central characters portrayed by other authors and General Tata on the same Level as James Patterson and Lee Child.

Will there ever be another Jake Mahegan book? The ending of Double Crossfire seems to require one.

I just finished Double Crossfire.The last two sentences make it obvious there will be a sequel.Is that the case and when?

The first book of Gen. Tata’s was Chasing the Lion. It was a gift from my son and grandson. A great work and I looking forward to reading the rest the General’s novels.

I’ve read all your books there well written, is there one being released this year, r strouse

Chasing the Lion will be released in June 2021

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Are you a fan of psychological thrillers? A big fan of authors such as Gillian Flynn? These are our most recommended authors in the thriller genre, which is my personal favourite genre:

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Ratan Tata: A Complete Biography (Tata Group: History & Business) Paperback – 1 November 2021

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An iconic Indian industrialist, Ratan Tata, has been a stalwart of the Indian business ecosystem. Born in Mumbai in the famed Tata family, he served as the chairman of Tata Sons and of the Tata Group (from 1990 to 2012, and 2016-17. Felicitated with the highest civilian awards of India, the Padma Vibhushan (2008) and Padma Bhushan (2000),

Tata has been a philanthropist and an active investor in the Indian start-up community. He was instrumental in many of the pivotal acquisitions (Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover, Corus, Air India) that ushered an era of modernity and competitiveness in this revered business group.

• Print length 168 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Prabhat Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.
• Publication date 1 November 2021
• Dimensions 21.59 x 13.97 x 0.96 cm
• ISBN-10 9355211740
• ISBN-13 978-9355211743
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About the author.

A.K. Gandhi, born in Meerut (U.P.), took retirement from the Indian Air Force in 1995 at a young age and engaged himself as full-time freelance writer and translator. He has written a number of books—his areas of interest being history, social study and grammar, which have been published by prestigious publications.

He has written several books for academic purposes, which are taught in several CBSE-medium schools across the country. His articles keep appearing in different newspapers and magazines, including the Janvani and Readers’ Digest, as he writes off and on in them.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Prabhat Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.; 1st edition (1 November 2021); Prabhat Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 168 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9355211740
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9355211743
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 300 g
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 21.59 x 13.97 x 0.96 cm
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ India
• Net Quantity ‏ : ‎ 1 Count
• Importer ‏ : ‎ Prabhat Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.
• Packer ‏ : ‎ Prabhat Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.
• Generic Name ‏ : ‎ Book
• #79 in Biographies & Autobiographies (Books)

About the author

Retired from the Indian Air Force at a young age, A.K. Gandhi stormed the world of literature with his innovative style and novel ideas and untraditional ways of research to bring out the popular books now he is known for. Presently, he works as a freelance author and translator, with a number of works to his credit in both capacities. He writes in both Hindi and English.

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Exclusive: How Barbara Walters broke the rules and changed the world for women and TV

Adapted from "The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters" by Susan Page. (464 pp. Simon and Schuster, April 23)

She had been warned.

Barbara Walters had finally won the anchor’s chair in 1976, the prize she had long sought and one that NBC News had refused to give her. ABC, then the third-ranking network with little to lose, offered her the job of co-anchoring the nightly news with Harry Reasoner and hosting four annual specials for the then-breathtaking salary of a million dollars a year.

She was the first newswoman − the first newsperson, in fact − to get such an astronomical sum. She achieved that distinction by shrewdly playing each network against the other. But her price came with its own price. No one would ever let her forget it.

“Barbara Walters: Million-Dollar Baby?” The Miami Herald asked in a headline trumpeted across all six columns at the top of page 1. “A Million-Dollar Baby Handling 5-and-10 Cent News?” ridiculed a column in The Washington Post. Richard Salant, the president of CBS News, asked sarcastically, “Is Barbara a journalist or is she Cher?”

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Walter Cronkite said he had experienced “a first wave of nausea, the sickening sensation that perhaps we were all going under, that all of our efforts to hold network television news aloof from show business had failed.”

Despite that queasy feeling, Cronkite demanded a big raise himself, to $900,000 a year, plus summers off, membership in private clubs, and a corporate plane to take him to and from Martha’s Vineyard. “Walter complained about me getting $1 million,” Barbara said. “But he soon was the great beneficiary. He didn’t complain about making a lot more money a year, because I broke the mold, very loudly.”

Loudly, and to the particular dismay of Harry Reasoner. He got a raise, too. But he didn’t want to co-anchor the news with anyone. Especially with a woman.

“You’re going to have a rough time,” veteran broadcaster Howard K. Smith cautioned her beforehand. “Do you know that?”

“I’m beginning to think so,” she replied. But she had no idea how bad it would be.

Smith was her predecessor on the show and a member in good standing of the old boys’ club, part of the fabled team of CBS World War II correspondents known as the Murrow Boys. He had begun co-anchoring the evening news in 1969, paired first with Frank Reynolds and then with Reasoner. In 1975, to Reasoner’s satisfaction, Smith had been sidelined to be a commentator. He knew better than anyone how unenthusiastic Reasoner was about having a partner on the air.

“Be strong and stand up to it, but he’s not going to treat you well,” Smith predicted.Smith didn’t do her many favors, either. On the Friday night before Barbara’s debut the following Monday, he delivered an essay on the evening broadcast.

He called Walters “network television’s first female anchorman, a lady whose beauty sometimes disguises a talent rarely equaled in this craft.” He noted that women were making inroads in other jobs in TV news as well. “Now on this report I will answer to a lady anchorman, Barbara,” he said, referring to his continuing role as the show’s occasional commentator. “Any bruise to the male ego is assuaged by the thought that if you’ve got to go, then being a male island in a sea of pretty women, well, what a way to go.”

The condescension came from the man who supposedly was in her corner.

From Reasoner, an affable manner masking sharp edges

Reasoner made no pretense that he was on her side.

He was fifty-three years old, with graying hair and an affable manner that masked his sharp edges. He had already described himself on the air as a chauvinist, proudly out of step with an age in which women were pushing for more parity in the workplace and more possibilities in their lives. He made comments about women and about feminism that would have cost him his job a half-century later. They raised eyebrows even then.

He opposed the Equal Rights Amendment. He endorsed a bride’s vow to “obey” her husband, “observing” that women “who are submissive to a husband with a strong personality seem to be happier than those who are equal or dominant decision-making partners.” He called the first issue of Gloria Steinem’s Ms . magazine “pretty sad” and predicted it would soon fail, although he said “the girls” who were putting it out were “prettier than H. L. Mencken if not as good when it came to editing.” He questioned whether the advent of the first female anchor would really be a “step forward.”

When female flight attendants were battling sexist stereotypes and airline rules about their appearance, he said he preferred that they retain an ornamental role. “They should remain patches of color in the business of flying,” he opined. “They should be there for a few years and then, like the clouds outside the windows, be replaced with soft and fluffy new ones.”

There was nothing “soft and fluffy” about Barbara Walters, of course.

She was now forty-seven years old (although she told everyone she was forty-five), twice divorced and a single mother of a child who would struggle with substance abuse. She was supporting her aging parents and special-needs sister. She was determined and ambitious, if cautious about aligning herself too closely with the emerging women’s movement. And she had experience in dealing with resistant men.

Near the beginning of her career, at NBC’s Today show, host Frank McGee had issued an edict that she couldn’t speak during on-air interviews with Washington newsmakers until he had asked the first three questions.

Now, in a commentary at the end of their first joint ABC Evening News show, Reasoner raised a spookily similar objection to how much airtime Barbara could claim. Even in the mid-1970s, when the Supreme Court had recognized abortion rights nationwide in Roe v. Wade and First Lady Betty Ford had endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment, some things apparently hadn’t changed all that much.

They sat side by side at the anchor desk for a show more notable for Barbara’s arrival than the news they reported that first night, starting with the resignation of Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz and including a satellite interview with Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. In a commentary at the close, Reasoner said he had a “little trouble” in thinking what to say to greet her that didn’t sound sexist or patronizing or sycophantic. It was an odd beginning; how hard could it be for a noted wordsmith to say “Welcome”?

“The decision was to welcome you as I would any respected and competent colleague of any sex by noting that I’ve kept time on your stories and mine tonight,” Reasoner finally told her. “You owe me four minutes.”

Looking a bit perplexed, Barbara laughed. He didn’t.

'Her fists were clenched'

After those early shows, Victor Neufeld, then a junior producer, would walk Barbara back to her office from the studio, which was in a building across the street. “She never said a word to me, but I knew she was very anxious and upset,” he told me, describing her as hurt and humiliated. “Her fists were clenched. She grabbed the script in her hands. She held on to the script, just walked looking down, not a word said. And I said, ‘It was a good show.’ She didn’t answer me.”

Reasoner’s bullying unnerved her. So did the onslaught of commentary dissecting her speech patterns, her looks, her clothes, her credentials, her performance in ways no man had ever faced. On Capitol Hill, a powerful congressman weighed in, outraged. “It’s ridiculous,” said Democratic senator John Pastore of Rhode Island, an important figure in the broadcast business because he chaired the Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on communications. “The networks come before my committee and shed crocodile tears and complain about their profits. Then they pay this little girl a million dollars. That’s five times better than the president of the United States makes.”

This little girl.

She was by then a woman who had spent a dozen years working her way up the ranks at NBC, where she had become co-host of the nation’s top-rated morning show. Other critiques also took a demeaning tone, referring to her as “Barbie” and “baby.” “Doll Barbie to Learn Her ABC’s” was the headline on the front page of the New York Daily News. One newspaper depicted her in a cartoon as a chorus girl, reading the news.

Everything she had achieved, and at considerable personal cost, seemed imperiled. “I would pick up the paper every day and read what a flop I was,” she said. She thought about quitting. Instead, for nearly two years she waged what became a war of attrition against Reasoner, one that would damage both of their careers, at least for a time.

He eventually would retreat to a perch on the venerable CBS news program 60 Minutes . He survived the disastrous pairing.

Barbara transcended it.

In the decades that followed, her career would span and define the golden age of television journalism in a way no one else, male or female, would ever exceed.

Presidents, movie stars, criminals and despots

Barbara Jill Walters was a force from the time TV was exploding on the American scene in the 1960s to its waning preeminence in a new world of competition from streaming services and social media a half-century later. She was a groundbreaker for women. She expanded the big TV interview and then dominated the genre. By the end of her career, she had interviewed more of the famous and infamous, of presidents and movie stars and criminals and despots, than any journalist in history. With the media landscape changing, she would set a record no one was likely to ever break.

Then, at sixty-seven, past the age many female broadcasters found themselves involuntarily retired, she pioneered a new form of talk TV called The View . The show would still be going strong a quarter century later.

“She was so brilliant,” Diane Sawyer, an erstwhile rival and a groundbreaking journalist herself, told me. “She had such a wonderful idea for creating a signature, just writing it across the sky.”

None of it came easy.

Barbara broke in not only before the #MeToo movement spotlighted sexual harassment but before The Feminine Mystique had been published and validated bigger ambitions for women. She had no role models, no mentors. Reasoner was just one of the colleagues who pulled for her to fail. Traditionalists like Cronkite viewed her with disdain, even as she was scooping them on historic interviews in the Mideast and elsewhere. Some rivals never saw her as a real journalist but as a “celebrity interviewer,” one step from her father’s vaudeville roots.

Yet she became an inspiration for many women and girls who followed, in journalism and other fields.

A seventeen-year-old high school student in Nashville entered the local Miss Fire Prevention Contest and told the judges that her aspiration was to be a TV journalist. “I want to be like Barbara Walters,” Oprah Winfrey told them.

Growing up in Stamford, Connecticut, Jen Psaki would negotiate with her parents to stay up past her bedtime to watch Barbara on ABC’s 20 ⁄ 20. “You didn’t feel like you were in a history class and you were bored,” Psaki, who would become a White House press secretary for President Joe Biden and then pursue a TV career herself, told me. “You were being brought on a journey.”

Young people with broadcast ambitions would come up to Barbara and say, “I want to be you.” She had a stock response: “Then you have to take the whole package.”

For her, the whole package included a dysfunctional childhood − a father she couldn’t remember ever hugging as a girl; a distracted and disgruntled mother; a disabled sister she both loved and hated. It encompassed three failed marriages and a daughter who was estranged before reconciling. While she savored her success and all it brought her, contentment was forever elusive. Toward the end, she withdrew into bitterness.

She succeeded not because she was confident, but because she was not. She was a perfectionist and a second-guesser who could drive those around her crazy. (Her second husband, Lee Guber, jokingly told her that the inscription on her gravestone should reflect her constant indecision: “On the other hand, maybe I should have lived.”) She was ferociously competitive − her rivalry with Diane Sawyer became a drama of epic dimensions − and she worked harder than anyone else.

“Given everything she’s accomplished, what is it that keeps her at that level of intensity?” Diane asked in 1996. "What is it she fears will happen if she doesn’t work this hard?”

A quarter-century later, after Barbara had passed away, I asked Diane if she had ever found the answer to those questions. “I’m not sure I ever cracked the code of what kept her getting up in the morning the way she did, and this sheer desire every day,” she told me. “There was nothing more that she could do to make us honor her more than we did.”

Barbara titled her 2008 memoir Audition because she had “always felt I was auditioning, either for a new job or to make sure that I could hold on to the one I had.” The trepidation never went away, not entirely. “No matter how high my profile became, how many awards I received, or how much money I made, my fear was that it all could be taken away from me,” she said late in life, when she could have simply relished all she had achieved.

She never did.

Av Westin, a producer who worked with her at the start of her career and at its peak, described her restless drive to me in words that were cinematic. We talked in his West Side apartment one afternoon, not long before his death at age ninety-two. As we spoke, Barbara was in failing health just across Central Park, in her East Side apartment. They were almost precisely the same age, born weeks apart, though she wouldn’t always admit that. In 2022, they would die months apart.

They had known one another for a lifetime, since he was the twentysomething director of the CBS morning show where she had landed her first job as a TV writer. Decades later, they worked together at the ABC Evening News and 20 ⁄ 20.

Even when she was dominating the ratings and earning millions of dollars a year, she was never at peace, Av said. “I used to characterize her − describe it as Barbara waking up in the middle of the night . . . and in the reflected light from a streetlight, which came through the bathroom window, was Barbara’s shadow,” he told me, waving one hand in the air as if conjuring the image. “And she would say to the mirror, ‘Tomorrow, they will find me out.’”

She would feel that knot of insecurity even at moments of triumph. Perhaps especially then.

Susan Page is the Washington Bureau chief of USA TODAY.