With each news day, history unfolds as steadfast journalists uncover facts and public opinion. Drawn from theNew York Times's archive of an unparalleled eighty-one Pulitzer Prizes,Written into History offers a fascinating record of the twentieth century.

The Times's award-winning reports range from Antarctic dispatches on the Byrd expedition to the eyewitness account of the atomic bomb, from the First Amendment battle to publish the Pentagon Papers to the personal narrative of an interracial friendship. Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Lewis culled the newspaper's most acclaimed writing to chronicle life and history as it was happening, with such highlights as David Halberstam on Vietnam, J. Anthony Lukas on hippies, Anna Quindlen on AIDS, and John F. Burns on the Taliban.

Lewis tells the stories behind the stories, describing journalism's changing role in the world. For armchair historians and aspiring reporters, this is a rich and memorable portrait of a century by the men and women who most artfully observed it.