And there were several accusations of plagiarism, particularly late in his career, after he had achieved worldwide fame. Ambrose admitted to sloppy editing but stood by his works.
...
But Ambrose's strengths far outshone his weaknesses. In retelling the stories of others in more than 30 books, Ambrose bathed those tales in fresh light and reminded us again just how good they are.

-- Thirteen-year-old Kenny Mays says he attends the eighth grade but doesn't know the name of his school.

-- Marlin Dixon is 14 years old and already the father of a 5-month-old baby.

-- Thirteen-year-old Don Dixon's father was recently murdered outside a methadone clinic.

-- Montreon Jordan is 15 and on probation for a robbery conviction.

-- Sixteen-year-old Lee Mays does not attend school because his mother told authorities she doesn't know where to send him. His lawyer, Michael Backes, told me the mother has "mental issues" and that Michael should be removed from the home.

Milwaukee police say that the accused murderers all lacked parental supervision and were pretty much allowed to do whatever they wanted. In fact, after the 10-year-old boy involved in the murder confessed to police, reporters heard his father say, "Kids are going to be kids."

At a recent Pentagon briefing, a reporter was complaining that the Pentagon, as the only source of information, ran counter to standard journalistic practice of getting at least two sources.

Rumsfeld gave the reporter one of those looks, smiled, and said, "Then don't write the story."