INK: The Years of Journalism Before the Days of Bloggers

Few writers have traveled such a long and rock-strewn road on the way to success as has Robert Coram. His persistence is an object lesson for anyone who wants to write.

In his early life, he failed at everything he did. He flunked out of college, served time in a military stockade, and was fired from numerous jobs. But all he wanted from life was to become a reporter at the Atlanta Journal. He returned to college and was hired by the paper while only a sophomore. During his six years at the paper he became a senior investigative reporter.

He was fired and began a freelance career that saw him published in many national magazines. His articles about drug smuggling caught the attention of an editor at the Atlanta Constitution and he became one of the few reporters ever fired by the Atlanta papers who was invited to return. During the two years he spent at the Constitution, he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize both years. Then he was fired.

He covered the war in Biafra and taught for twelve years at Emory. He wrote five novels, all rejected by editors. He persisted and eventually published seven novels, seven works of non-fiction, and a memoir. Four of the non-fiction works are acclaimed military biographies.  

This book is infused with his pile-driver determination, his love of old-time newspapering, and his reverence for the written word.