As young reporters covering revolutions and coup attempts in the 1920s, John Gunther, H.R. Knickerbocker, Vincent Sheean, and Dorothy Thompson became friends—and sometimes rivals. By the 1930s, they were interviewing Mussolini, Gandhi, Nehru, and Hitler; sharing cigars with Churchill; and chatting with FDR. They started their careers by reporting the story, but by the outbreak of World War II, they were the story. Breaking with the objectivity that was then the mainstay of American reporting, they devised a new kind of journalism, both intimate and subjective. Their work raised urgent questions: When should reporters take sides? Was it possible to cover would-be authoritarians without boosting their fame? To tell those stories, they pioneered a new sort of memoir that spoke openly about loss, pain, and love. Drawing on rich troves of archival material, Last Call at the Hotel Imperial examines these astonishing reporters' legacy and captures history in the making.