Evidence a Reporter Was More Than a One-Story Wonder

Librado Romero/The New York Times McCandlish Phillips getting the lowdown from a highly placed circus source.

McCandlish Phillips, the masterly former New York Times reporter who died on Tuesday, was about a lot more than exposing a Jewish-born Ku Klux Klansman, although that is what he is often remembered for. His deceptively simple-sounding declarative voice could make just about any subject seem irresistibly droll.

Here is a selection of some of his finer moments, including one that begins, “Two kinds of people wait in the Port Authority Bus Terminal near Times Square. Some are waiting for buses. Others are waiting for death.”

1962 McCandlish Phillips Article on Surplus Zoo-Animal Sale (PDF)

1962 McCandlish Phillips Article on Surplus Zoo-Animal Sale (Text)

1964 McCandlish Phillips Article on Dead Fish (PDF)

1964 McCandlish Phillips Article on Dead Fish (Text)

1966 McCandlish Phillips Article on Albany Madness (PDF)

1966 McCandlish Phillips Article on Albany Madness (Text)

1969 McCandlish Phillips Article on War Protest (PDF)

1969 McCandlish Phillips Article on War Protest (Text)

1970 McCandlish Phillips Article on Rikers Singer (PDF)

1970 McCandlish Phillips Article on Rikers Singer (Text)

1970 McCandlish Phillips Article on Port Authority Denizens (PDF)

1970 McCandlish Phillips Article on Port Authority Denizens (Text)