Dive deeper into the world of CORRUPTION with this reading list curated by playwright J.T. Rogers and LCT Literary Manager/Dramaturg Jenna Clark Embrey.
Read the book on which CORRUPTION is based!
Dial M for Murdoch: News Corporation And The Corruption Of Britain
By Tom Watson & Martin Hickman
From the publisher:
For years Rupert Murdoch's newspapers had been hacking, spying, blagging, bribing and destroying the evidence. They thought they were untouchable. They were wrong. This is the book that exposed the shadow state at the heart of Britain. Now fully updated with the very latest in the News Corp scandal, it tells the story of how a criminal conspiracy involving politicians, the police and the press was revealed; the smears and threats they used to cover it up; the brave whistleblowers who cracked open the case - and what it now means for all of us.
Good Times, Bad Times: The Explosive Inside Story of Rupert Murdoch
By Harold Evans
From the publisher:
In Harold Evans’s classic memoir, he tells the inside story of Rupert Murdoch’s takeover of the Times of London and his rise to become a global media power
In 1981, Harold Evans was the editor of one of Britain’s most prestigious publications, the Sunday Times, which had thrived under his watch. When Australian publishing baron Rupert Murdoch bought the daily Times of London, he persuaded Evans to become its editor with guarantees of editorial independence. But after a year of broken promises and conflict over the paper’s direction, Evans departed amid an international media firestorm.
Evans’s story is a gripping, behind-the-scenes look at Murdoch’s ascension to global media magnate. It is Murdoch laid bare, an intimate account of a man using the power of his media empire for his own ends. Riveting, provocative, and insightful, Good Times, Bad Times is as relevant today as when it was first written.
This book features a new preface by the author, in which he discusses the Rupert Murdoch phone-hacking scandal.
The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade
By Piers Morgan
From the publisher:
Piers Morgan was made editor of the News of the World, the UK's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper at the record-breaking age of 28. The decade that followed was one of the most tumultuous in modern times. In a world of indiscreet dinners, private meetings and gossipy lunches, Piers Morgan found himself in the thick of it. His diaries from this remarkable period reveal astonishing and hilarious encounters with an endless list of celebrities and politicians alike.
Hack: Sex, Drugs, and Scandal from Inside the Tabloid Jungle
By Graham Johnson
From the publisher:
Graham Johnson was a fresh-faced journalist with an ambition to break the big news stories and make his name as a star reporter when an offer came in to work at a leading tabloid… he couldn't say no. Instantly, he found himself drawn into a world of sleaze, spin and corruption - where bending the law was justifiable in the hunt for the big-selling story and bending the truth was the norm.
Against his better judgment, Graham found his niche in this new world and, what's more, he found that he was good at it. In his time at first the News of the World then the Sunday Mirror, he made a name for himself as a man who could deliver the story, no matter what - a kind of tabloid terrorist who rifled through celebrity's rubbish bins, staked out politicians' hotel rooms, and paid-up page three girls to seduce Premiership footballers, all in the name of scoring a front-page story.
Hack is a compelling and intoxicating story of one man's time in the tabloid jungle - a world that in its heady mix of sex, drugs and casual immorality is reminiscent of the City - and how he ultimately saved himself.
Full Disclosure
By Andrew Neil
From the publisher:
Andrew Neil's autobiography. As Managing Editor of Britain's Sunday Times he was the most powerful and innovative editor in Britain's Fleet Street. He fought with The Royal Family, endlessly with Margaret Thatcher and eventually with the paper's new owner Rupert Murdoch. Fascinating and required read for anyone interested in journalism.
Confessions of a Fake Sheik: The King of the Sting Reveals All
By Mazher Mahmood
From the publisher:
Jaw-dropping insider's revelations from the world's number one investigative journalist. Meeting a supermodel who secretly doubles up as the world's most expensive hooker, encountering a doctor who wants to murder his mistress, coming face to face with famous celebrities dealing cocaine, or enjoying a cozy dinner with members of the Royal family? It's all in a day's work for an investigative reporter like the News of the World's Mazher Mahmood.
A Who's Who of the rich and famous have fallen prey to his disguise as the Fake Sheik. For the first time the full truth is revealed behind these amazing stories, the story of a lifetime in and out of the Arab robes, exposing corrupt officials, drug dealers, pedophiles, people traffickers, and Islamic terrorists. Sometimes humorous, often frightening, but always sensational, this is a gripping account of a life behind the headlines. A long list of politicians, celebrities, officials, and athletes have blamed the Fake Sheik for their downfall. He is also the scourge of the criminal world with his work having led to more than 230 convictions. A Russian mafia boss has put a GBP30,000 price-tag on his head. Now in, his sensational book, the man dubbed "the King of the Sting" details his methods as well as the secret deals that led to several stories being toned down to save careers and marriages. He also exposes celebrities and politicians who until now thought they had gotten away with it.
The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch
By Michael Wolff
From the publisher:
From the author of the Sunday Times Number One Bestseller Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House
Rupert Murdoch is one of the greatest deal-makers alive. His companies possess extraordinary political and cultural power. Whether it is the Sun and the rise of Thatcher, BSkyB and the transformation of football, or Fox News and the war on terror, we have been living in the age of Murdoch since the late seventies. But who is he? What drives him?
With unprecedented access to Murdoch and his inner circle, Michael Wolff chronicles the astonishing growth of the mogul’s giant media kingdom. Drawing upon hundreds of hours of interviews he offers us a portrait of a Machiavellian titan; overbearing, but loving, father; love-struck husband; and a cynical and brilliant newsman. The resulting book is unrivaled in its intimacy and candor and tells a tale of business that is both the story of a man’s life, and the story of our times.
Curated by J.T. Rogers (Playwright of CORRUPTION) and Jenna Clark Embrey (LCT Literary Manager/Dramaturg).
