TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER The Bookworm Sez Advertisement

Where were you when the Challenger went down?

Or the Twin Towers? Where were you on that Sept. 11?

For that matter, what you were doing during the 1972 Olympics or the start of the Iraq War or Saddam Hussein's trial in Baghdad?

Chances are you were suddenly glued to the news, clutching your newspaper, eager to learn more. And chances are you learned it from Peter Jennings.

In the new book, "Peter Jennings: A Reporter's Life," edited by Kate Darnton, Kayce Freed Jennings and Lynn Sherr, you'll read the reminiscincing of people who worked with Jennings, loved him and knew him best.

Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings was born in 1938 in Toronto, the oldest child of a Canadian broadcaster who encouraged his son to find a different line of work when Peter first started his radio career.

Fascinated with media and current events, Peter eventually quit high school and pursued a life in broadcasting despite his father's recommendation.

When the president of ABC News tapped Jennings for a reporter's job in the mid-1960s, Jennings first turned the position down, thinking that he couldn't handle it. A few months later, he had second thoughts. The opportunity was still available and Jennings moved to New York.

After a brief stint as a young anchor, Jennings stepped back into the role of reporter, intent on strengthening his credentials as a journalist. He reported from the Middle East and Europe, and was known for "getting the story."

He made mistakes, many due to language differences and a misunderstanding of American politics. He again became an anchor for World News Tonight and, in 1983, when co-anchor Frank Reynolds died of cancer, Jennings was named sole anchor of ABC's evening news.

Over the years, Jennings was our anchor, in more ways than one. He explained what happened when the Challenger exploded. He made us see war and the people affected by it. When the Twin Towers fell, Jennings was on the air for 17 hours straight.

Behind the scenes, though, he was a perfectionist and demanded better than the best from the people who surrounded him. He could be irritating and abrasive, loved to ad-lib and improvise (much to the aggravation of his producers) but was respected and admired by co-workers and competitors alike.

Peter Jennings died of lung cancer just over two years ago, and this book is a very good lauding of his life and his work.

I was very impressed that editors pulled together so much information: transcripts from a TV special that aired just days after Jennings' death, bits of speeches and letters that Jennings himself wrote, and a smattering of pictures taken from the Jennings family and other sources.

While there are a few holes left in this book of remembrances -- particularly in reference to Jennings' personal life -- this book is very browse-able, and news junkies and current-events mavens will enjoy what's here. Pick up a copy of "Peter Jennings: A Reporter's Life." I'm happy to report that it's worth reading.

"Peter Jennings: A Reporter's Life," edited by Kate Darnton, Kayce Freed Jennings, and Lynn Sherr, PublicAffairs, $27.95, 321 pages, includes notes.