“Gene Meyer is one of the finest journalist to come out of the Ben Bradlee era at The Washington Post. He has the highest standards and practices aggressive but compassionate storytelling.”
—Bob Woodward
About Gene Meyer
Eugene L. Meyer is an award-winning veteran journalist with eclectic interests but special passions for history, lifestyles, travel, real estate and the Chesapeake Bay. He has been widely published in magazines, authored three books and was for many years a reporter and editor at the Washington Post. Since leaving the Post in 2004, Meyer has garnered 15 awards for his work, and has had more than 50 bylines in The New York Times. His first journalism job was as Washington bureau librarian for the old New York Herald Tribune, where he got to tag along with a White House reporter and watch the 1964 Civil Rights Act being signed into law.
Books by Gene Meyer
Praise for Gene's Work
“Even in a newsroom full of superstars, Gene Meyer always stood out. Not flashy, not one to draw attention to himself, he has always found a way to bring so called ordinary people, and fading and forgotten places, into the spotlight. He has that most important but all too rare gift: he listens.”
—Michel Martin, Weekend Host of NPR's All Things Considered
“A historical memory that never seems to fade, a passion for justice and a gift for storytelling, Gene is always a must read.”
—Courtland Milloy, Washington Post columnist
“Gene Meyer knows the highways and byways and waterways of America like no one else. He was the first reporter I met at the Washington Post nearly 40 years ago, and I've been admiring him and reading him ever since.”
—David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning Associate Editor of the Washington Post
“Gene is an author and journalist whose writing is often elegiac, always compelling. His range is wide, his insights keen, and, with his eclectic interests, he informs and entertains his readers with his stories about the past and present...”
—Kitty Kelley, celebrity biographer
“I had the privilege of working with Gene Meyer during my early days at The Washington Post and it was like getting Ph.D in reporting and story-telling. Gene's continued to be a master of both for more than four decades now and, to this day, I still feel as if I learn something every time I read something he's written.”
—John Feinstein, sports writer, commentator and author of 35 books
“Meyer is our own Marco Polo, balancing interviews, explanatory background and lively commentary.”
—James Bready in the Baltimore Sun
In the News
Meyer was humbled and proud to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award in May 2019 from the Washington Independent Review of Books for his many years of service to the organization and for his years of journalism.
FIVE FOR FREEDOM: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army won the 2019 award for Outstanding Biography/History from the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
Next Project
I am resuming work on a memoir of my many decades as an eyewitness to years of protest, days of rage as a reporter dedicated to truth telling in turbulent times. It’s about much more than history. It’s also about the challenges of today, when dedicated reporters are under attack as never before and the importance of truth in a democracy is under challenge.
Latest Blog Post
In my book FIVE FOR FREEDOM: The African Americans in John Brown’s Army, I highlight the tragic love story of Harriet and Dangerfield Newby with a chapter titled “One Bright Hope.” Dangerfield Newby, born enslaved, later emancipated when his white father and enslaved mother moved to the free state of Ohio, had an enduring union and as many as seven children with Harriet, a woman enslaved by a Dr. Lewis…
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