... smart and engaging.

All great editors have an eye for talent. After reading Citizen Reporters, I’m convinced that McClure had the greatest eye of all time.

[Gorton] explores the clash and interplay of talents that created an entity greater than the sum of its parts, absorbed in an endeavor as important now as it was then: molding coherent narratives that help readers—surrounded by a cacophony of daily stories—grasp the changes they are living through..

In her finely sourced and lively first book, Gorton tells the complex, entwined stories of these two ardent innovators and their temperamental differences, symbiotic friendship, and reverberating achievements.

Gorton weaves an entertaining history of this important journal and the people responsible for its success. While centered on events that occurred between 1890 and 1910, the tale she tells feels relevant today.

Socially conscious journalism and colorful personalities stimulate each other in this meandering portrait of a Progressive Era magazine.

In Gorton’s wide-ranging book, the magazine does not make its debut until nearly 100 pages in.