People Remembered: George Bookman

Photo courtesy of Charles A. Bookman.

By Charles A. Bookman

George B. Bookman, one of the OPC’s most senior members, passed away recently in Seattle, WA at the age of 103. A noted journalist, he covered the White House for The Washington Post during Franklin Roosevelt’s Presidency. He broadcast in French over shortwave radio in the Second World War from Brazzaville, Congo, which flew the free French flag. Later, he was responsible for news and propaganda in Cairo, Baghdad, Italy and Austria.

He reported national business and economic news for TIME magazine and Fortune during the 1950s. He covered Presidential campaigns from Adlai Stevenson to Nelson Rockefeller. At the dawn of television news, he served as a panelist on “Meet the Press” and “Face the Nation.” He earned the respect of financial reporters as director of public affairs for the New York Stock Exchange. When he directed public affairs for the New York Botanical Garden, he delivered weekly on-air gardening broadcasts on CBS News Radio. Born without a green thumb, the “Garden World” broadcasts got him into trouble occasionally, when well-meaning gardeners would ask him for advice.

Bookman chaired the OPC’s admissions committee for over a decade. He remained active in club affairs until 2014. When asked once why he devoted so much time to club affairs, he replied, “I guess I like the company of journalists.”

Bookman’s, memoirs Headlines, Deadlines and Lifelines, were published in 2009.