"[2] “Our credo must be the exposure of the plunderers, the steerers, the wirepullers, the bosses, the brokers, the campaign givers and takers,” Barrett once said to journalism students at his alma mater, Columbia University.

“So I say: Stew, percolate, pester, track, burrow, besiege, confront, damage, level, care.”[3] Barrett was born on July 11, 1945, in New Britain, Connecticut, and was raised in Lynchburg, Virginia.

His groundbreaking work into the early career of Donald Trump made him a latter-day authority for a new generation of reporters interested in the character and psyche of America’s 45th president.

[6] Barrett was best known for authoring many articles and books about politicians, including New York City figures such as Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and Ed Koch.

[9][10] After Barrett's death, his complete writings were acquired by the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin.