Marguerite Higgins catapulted to journalistic fame with her dramatic account of the liberation of Dachau at the end of World War II. Brash, beautiful, ruthlessly competitive, and sexually adventurous, she forced her way to the front despite being told the combat zone was no place for a woman. Her headline-making exploits earned her a reputation for bravery bordering on recklessness and accusations of “advancing on her back,” trading sexual favors for scoops. Her notoriety soared during the Cold War, and her daring dispatches from Korea garnered a Pulitzer Prize. A star reporter, she became close to the Kennedy brothers, but provoked bitter rivalries with male correspondents who vilified her until her untimely death. In Fierce Ambition, journalist and historian Jennet Conant digs into Maggie’s turbulent life and shines a spotlight on her legacy―her trailblazing career, unwavering courage, and refusal to sacrifice success to fit gender expectations.

“‘She courted fame more ardently than she ever did men,’ Jennet Conant writes in her mesmerizing, meticulously research biography, Fierce Ambition. If anything, the title is an understatement… Higgins was only 45 when she died on Jan. 3, 1966. Ms. Conant’s book has brought her back to life.”
—Andrew Nagorski, Wall Street Journal

“[An] engrossing portrait…. propulsive and high-spirited, this is a riveting depiction of a larger-than-life trailblazer.”
—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

“The glamorous, accomplished 20th-century war journalist Higgins – a Pulitzer Winner with a nose for news and the nerve to chase it at any cost -gets her due in this lively biography.”
—New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice