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Chasing the Story

A Reporter’s Journey to the White House
By: Peter Maer

Veteran White House Correspondent Peter Maer takes readers on his amazing journey from his Illinois hometown to the White House.

A frequent flyer on Air Force One, Maer brings history alive with previously untold stories of experiences covering presidents from Carter to Obama.

He reveals profound conversations with presidents and first ladies. He describes life-changing assignments covering the aftermaths of a massive earthquake in Mexico and a devastating Asia tsunami.

He shares colorful moments including his run-in with a Cheetah on a presidential trip to Africa and discovery of a rat in the White House briefing room.

The award-winning former CBS News Radio correspondent provides a unique look at the inner workings of White House news coverage.

Readers will also enjoy stories of Peter Maer’s youthful adventures and his early ambition to be a journalist

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If anyone really needed to write a memoir, it’s Peter Maer.  His reporting from the White House was always straightforward and reliable.  But in “Chasing The Story,” he now shares previously untold behind-the-scenes accounts of six presidents and the news events during their terms in office. Jimmy Carter, who danced with Maer’s wife Elizabeth at the White House in 1977, once confided to Maer and others that he had hemorrhoids.  The Obama team did not want any photos of the president putting on his shoes. Ronald Reagan gave Maer off-the-record comments on Mikhail Gorbachov which he now shares.  “Chasing the Story” also recounts  the almost funny (like being attacked by a cheetah in Botswana) and the deadly serious (such as when a security agent pulled a gun on Maer in a New Hampshire hotel).  I loved this book. If you are a fan of current events and history, you will too.

Charlie Brennan
former host, KMOX-St. Louis
Host, Donnybrook, NinePBS, St. Louis
Contributor, The St. Louis Business Journal

Reviews

“By the time I had finished reading Peter Maer’s introduction in “Chasing the Story,” I was already hooked. He’s a masterful story teller — and oh, the stories he has to tell. Peter makes an important part of our history come alive for the reader as he takes us behind the scenes of what it’s like to cover the White House. So grateful he wrote this book.”

— Jean Becker, chief of staff to George H.W. Bush, 1994-2018.

“Your book is mandatory reading for any historian who is writing about recent American Presidents. What a marvelous accomplishment.”

–Harvey Nagler, former Vice President, CBS News Radio

“Peter’s book gives readers an inside look at his 40-plus year career covering both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.  It is a fabulous book for his exquisite storytelling and first-hand accounts of the leaders who shaped history.”

–Steve Scully, host of “The Briefing” SiriusXM POTUS Channel

“A Great Book. Get it.”  

–Mark Weinberg, former spokesman for President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan. 

“Need inspiration? Get it in Peter Maer’s personal life journal on ‘Chasing the Story (Dream).’ Spoiler alert:’ He caught it! And his book can help you do the same.” 

 –Ron ‘Johnny Rabbitt’ Elz

KMOX Radio, St. Louis  

“Peter Maer has written an excellent memoir that is far from your typical journalist’s book. The tales of his career are interspersed with compelling stories about his personal life, real life priorities  and the faith that often has guided it,  all with perspective, grace, and humor, while avoiding the dependence on “inside baseball“ stories that might alienate the casual reader. Throughout his career, Peter has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to tell a radio story in 35 seconds or less. Here, he shows that he knows how to write for the eye as well as the ear! A book that journalists and non-journalists will truly enjoy. Disclaimer: I would say this, even if he wasn’t my friend!”

–Peter King, former CBS News Radio Correspondent

“I recommend it to everyone. It’s inspiring, informative and fun. It’s a great book. A classic.  And everyone in America should read it.”

—Marlin Fitzwater former press secretary to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush.