Jack Hawn looks back over his life and shares his memories with readers in his "Blind Journey". "Blind Journey" is an apt title for this book. Maybe it was fate or destiny, but Hawn did not plan to be a journalist. The doors opened for him and he entered through them, which led him to a spectacular career spanning 43 years. He was in the service when Colonel Fleming asked him if he would like to be in PIO, Public Information Office. The PIO writes articles about new recruits and sends them to their hometown papers. The Colonel said they would teach him to write. With little hesitation, Hawn agreed to a transfer, but days later left word he had reconsidered and decided to remain where he he had been assigned--checking GI's baggage. Surpringly, weeks later he was ordered to PIO, where his career unknowingly was launched. When Hawn left the Army he had a family to support and no job. He started as a newspaper copy boy in Hollywood, Calif., and 16 years later when the paper went bankrupt was hired by the Los Angeles Times, where he worked for 10 years in sports and 11 years in entertainment. I found it refreshing to “meet” Jack Hawn and to watch him learn the industry of journalism while on the job.

One of the most important elements in a memoir is for the author to make himself visible to his or her readers. Author Jack Hawn successfully allows readers to get to know the real Jack Hawn. He uses photographs to draw readers closer to him. As Hawn looks back over his career he examines how he ended up in the business of journalism. Jack Hawn offers readers encouragement to think out of the box and to reach for the stars.

Long-time West Coast sports writer Jack Hawn tells in "Blind Journey" of his life and his reporter's career, covering the world of boxing, and that of Hollywood entertainment in the 1950s to the last decade of the last century. Born in Nebraska in 1930, Jack grew up in California where his father owned a service station and then a bar called the Shamrock Inn. Jack enlisted in the army during his college years and stationed at Fort Ord, he was assigned to the Public Information Office and so began his career as a writer. Jack writes of Private Floyd Humeston and his tame lion and of meeting Ann Miller, the McGuire sisters and the Brown Derby's Bob Cobb, creator of the now-famous Cobb salad. He tells of meeting the incredible twenty-year-old Cassius Clay who went on to become Mohammed Ali and of knowing great athletes such as Ken Norton and Tom Harmon, father of actor Mark Harmon. All through this, Jack tells of marrying the love of his life, Charlene, and how they established a strong marriage and raised successfully four children amid Jack's career of twists and turns.

"Blind Journey" will be a treat for sports fans, especially those who love boxing. Author Jack Hawn shares his life and his career honestly and openly and tells of how he wrote the outlines, series proposals and scripts for dozens of television shows such as "Gunsmoke," "The Virginian," and "12 O'clock High." His coverage of numerous singing and acting stars of the past such as Dinah Shore, Sammy Davis Jr., and the Andrews Sisters will attract the reader. Numerous black and white photographs add to the effect of Jack Hawn's book. The book so honestly and openly tells us about his working career as a writer and the many famous people he was able to meet and interview. "Blind Journey" is highly recommended for sports fans and Hollywood "groupies" everywhere!

A gifted writer and journalist who retired from the Los Angeles Times, Jack Hawn has written a compelling memoir about his life. This fascinating book covers Jack’s early years as a writer, stemming from his humble upbringing to his days in the army. But Jack never planned on being a writer. Fate intervened in 1948, when he enlisted in the army. Despite his reluctance, Jack found himself writing articles about young recruits to be sent to their hometown papers, sending messages of their happy transitions from civilian life to the military.Thus began a quest to find compelling stories of recruits with interesting backgrounds. This also included a unique tale of a lion, a sergeant and a van. “Power of the Press” became Jack’s flame. So did Charlene, Jack’s beautiful wife. Then began Jack’s civilian life. With the seeds of writing planted, Jack and Charlene suffer lean years as they struggle to make ends meet. But hard work and steadfast convictions eventually pay off.

"Blind Journey" by Author Jack Hawn is a wonderful memoir. This absorbing story takes you through Jack’s years in the army and his civilian life as a struggling writer working and learning the ropes in the news industry. Jack has covered sports, entertainment and written scripts for dramatic television. He also intersected with remarkable people, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Muhammad Ali. Pictures only add to the book's flair. I thoroughly enjoyed taking a closer look at this gifted writer’s life and sharing in his journey of success. A great read!

Blind Journey by Jack Hawn makes for very enjoyable reading. Jack recounts his working life as a journalist which began after he left the army in his early twenties. With a wife and baby daughter to support he needed a job. After a couple of false starts he began his writing career. He wrote reviews of shows and nightclub acts as a newspaper copy boy, then moved onto the sports desk as an editor and writer. Throughout his career, he continued to moonlight, writing scripts for TV series and radio scripts for sportscasters. Joining the Los Angeles Times in 1970, Hawn covered many famous athletes and entertainers for 21 years until his retirement in 1991. And all this time he was, like everyone, having to balance family and work. We get to meet wife Charlene and their children in the book and thanks to all the photographs, you really feel you are getting to know all sides of Jack Hawn’s life.
Memoirs can have limited appeal and some autobiographies rely on mentioning famous people for their appeal. But this doesn’t happen in Blind Journey. Hawn’s life is more than interesting enough to keep you reading on its own. It’s interlaced with fascinating anecdotes about what he describes as “famous and infamous people” whom he has come across, and there are plenty of extracts of his writing. His enthusiasm for his subject matter always shines through in these. The whole book is well written by someone who has clearly become a top craftsman - it’s entertaining but also gritty and has moments of hardship and tragedy. However, the main elements of the book are optimism and energy and it’s an inspiring as well as absorbing book to read.