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Binding: RoughcutDewey Decimal Number: 070.92 EAN: 9780307266460 ISBN: 030726646X Label: Knopf Manufacturer: Knopf Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 624 Publication Date: May 06, 2008 Publisher: Knopf Release Date: May 06, 2008 Studio: Knopf Editorial Review: Product Description: Young people starting out in television sometimes say to me: “I want to be you.” My stock reply is always: “Then you have to take the whole package.” And now, at last, the most important woman in the history of television journalism gives us that “whole package,” in her inspiring and riveting memoir. After more than forty years of interviewing heads of state, world leaders, movie stars, criminals, murderers, inspirational figures, and celebrities of all kinds, Barbara Walters has turned her gift for examination onto herself to reveal the forces that shaped her extraordinary life. Barbara Walters’s perception of the world was formed at a very early age. Her father, Lou Walters, was the owner and creative mind behind the legendary Latin Quarter nightclub, and it was his risk-taking lifestyle that gave Barbara her first taste of glamour. It also made her aware of the ups and downs, the insecurities, and even the tragedies that can occur when someone is willing to take great risks, for Lou Walters didn’t just make several fortunes—he also lost them. Barbara learned early about the damage that such an existence can do to relationships—between husband and wife as well as between parent and child. Through her roller-coaster ride of a childhood, Barbara had a close companion, her mentally challenged sister, Jackie. True, Jackie taught her younger sister much about patience and compassion, but Barbara also writes honestly about the resentment she often felt having a sister who was so “different” and the guilt that still haunts her. All of this—the financial responsibility for her family, the fear, the love—played a large part in the choices she made as she grew up: the friendships she developed, the relationships she had, the marriages she tried to make work. Ultimately, thanks to her drive, combined with a decent amount of luck, she began a career in television. And what a career it has been! Against great odds, Barbara has made it to the top of a male-dominated industry. She was the first woman cohost of the Today show, the first female network news coanchor, the host and producer of countless top-rated Specials, the star of 20/20, and the creator and cohost of The View. She has not just interviewed the world’s most fascinating figures, she has become a part of their world. These are just a few of the names that play a key role in Barbara’s life, career, and book: Yasir Arafat, Warren Beatty, Menachem Begin, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Roy Cohn, the Dalai Lama, Princess Diana, Katharine Hepburn, King Hussein, Angelina Jolie, Henry Kissinger, Monica Lewinsky, Richard Nixon, Rosie O’Donnell, Christopher Reeve, Anwar Sadat, John Wayne . . . the list goes on and on. Barbara Walters has spent a lifetime auditioning: for her bosses at the TV networks, for millions of viewers, for the most famous people in the world, and even for her own daughter, with whom she has had a difficult but ultimately quite wonderful and moving relationship. This book, in some ways, is her final audition, as she fully opens up both her private and public lives. In doing so, she has given us a story that is heartbreaking and honest, surprising and fun, sometimes startling, and always fascinating. Average Rating:
 Rating: - A little shocked about BabsAbout a tenth of the way through this book, when she was in her early 30's, I lost count of the number of men she had slept with. Then this picked up again when she was in her 40's. I think it was crass of her to include this in the book. Also, I don't understand what these famous and not so famous saw in her. The book is extremely well written and that's why I gave it 4 stars but I'm half way through and starting to get bored. She's repetitive in how great and special she is, how ... Read More Rating:  - Please don't!My neighbor gave this book to my wife and I was home just getting over a sinus infection. I decided to read it. After about 1/2 hour I wished my infection would return so I'd have a reason for my headache. If you like this book, please don't reproduce and please give up your voting rights! Rating:  - Walters is a Trailblazer for Women in the MediaMary Greenwood, author ofHow to Mediate Like a Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes Barbar Walters is a trail blazer for women in the media. Audition is a fascinating ride from the 40's to the present showing women's role in journalism. On the early days of the Today Show there was the Today Girl, the one "girl" allowed to do special segments on the Today Show. Walters was never a Today Girl, but when there were three women doing women's segments, one was considered too caustic and the ... Read More Rating: - Quite a LifeWalters, Barbara. "Audition: A Memoir", Alfred Knopf, 2008. Quite a Life Amos Lassen I have always loved Barbara Walters but I must admit that I really did not want to read her book because of all the hype. Nevertheless, when my copy came I sat down with it and found myself enjoying every word. It's over 600 pages long so there was no way I would get through it in one sitting; I do have a life and I had to prepare for my summer school classes. Walters has ... Read More Rating: - Changing the World for Female JournalistsBarbara Walters who has spent more than five decades shattering the glass ceiling for female journalists has delivered a candid new memoir, "Audition," looking back on her extraordinary life. "Audition" begins in Boston where she was born and concludes in New York where she continues to work at age 78 on her ABC specials and "The View." She provides the kind of personal glimpses and secrets she tries to extract from her many high-profile interviews. Walters got into television by accident ... Read More |
