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 - A fascinating memoirOnce I started reading this book, it was hard to put down. I found it fascinating to read about a woman who has had a front-row seat at many important historical events and who has known many history-makers either personally or professionally. Her story begins with her early life, growing up as the daughter of Lou Walters, the show business producer, her mother Dena, whom Barbara thinks was married to the wrong person, and her older sister Jackie, who was mentally retarded and whom Barbara says had the biggest impact on her life. Her childhood was a roller-coaster ride, with several moves and the ups and downs of her father's financial successes and failures. This early life seemed to have left her with fear of financial failure and a burning desire to succeed at her chosen career. She describes long hours and less than ideal conditions and co-workers, but somehow she managed to shine brightly in her chosen career in television. She had to contend with a male-dominated field and her rise from a writer on the Today show to an anchor spot was unprecedented in television history. She is not shy about sharing opinions of the many people who have passed through her life. She found Hillary Clinton more interesting than Bill. She loved working with Hugh Downs, but had problems with Harry Reasoner. She loved interviewing Bette Midler, but had a hard time with Warren Beatty. All of this and much more is contained in the book. Her success did not come without a price, most of it in the areas of her personal and family life. At an early age, she became the sole support of her mother, father, and sister. She bravely took on this responsibility, but as her fame grew, she didn't seem to spend much time with her family. She states that she really regrets the fact that she was not with her mother when she died. She left her daughter for long periods of time with 2 live-in babysitters and seemed surprised later when she found out that her daughter missed her. She admits to being bad at marriage, and her three failed attempts bear that out. Sometimes she seems to take her role as a journalist a little too seriously, but then she disarms the reader by being brutally honest about some of her failures. This is her life as Barbara sees it, but it is a fascinating life and is well worth the time to read it. Rating:  - Barbara Wa -WaI have always been curious about her and this book certainly examines her life and her accomplishments as well as her failings and weaknesses . SHe is also as expected is a great reader and a great human being . I admire her braveness and drive . A must for all women movement advocates . ALthough she does not dwell on women it does cover a very couragous woman nonetheless. Rating:  - Too much politicsI enjoyed Auditions; however, I was bored hearing about all the political interviewees and would have enjoyed hearing more about the celebrity interviewees. I purchased the CDs because I don't have time to sit and read a book and there could have been more CDs to cover what was in the book and not on CD. Rating: - Torn...I'm really torn about this book. I wanted to enjoy it. I've always looked up to and been fascinated by Barbara Walters. However, she herself has changed that view. First of all, I expected the book to be a little better written. Her sentence structure wasn't always the best. Anyway, I didn't know that Ms. Walters had had a sister that was mentally challenged. I definitely didn't know that Ms. Walters basically ran away from her family responsibilities with her parents and sister after she was an adult. There are many times in this book where Ms. Walters says I know I should feel guilty about whatever but I really just want to be free from them. Ms. Walters wasn't around for any of their deaths and even lied to her mother about her sister's passing. With my occupation, it's hard for me to read about Barbara Walters making a decision to adopt a child and then leaving her all the time. She hires two ladies after her divorce as babysitters to her daughter, Jackie and then leaves Jackie while she goes off chasing stories. She didn't even make a police report when Jackie disappears for a month or more and is found in Kansas. I just found this so irresponsible and that's not the picture that I had of her. I think if a biographer had written this book unauthorized it might have been easier for me to take but Barbara herself wrote this book. Now the good parts. She definitely wrote a book warts and all. I loved the fact that I could relive my life with this book. I remember so many of her interviews or the events she describes. It was fascinating to learn a lot of the behind the scenes of the programs and interviews. I loved her talking about her times at the Today show. Definitely liked the chapter about The View. Overall, I think it is a fascinating information book about a pioneer in the world of female news reporting, but just realize that Barbara Walters has some flaws and she lets them all hang out. Rating: - Best Memoir EverI was riveted by Barbara Walter's memoir, Audition. It was a fascinating read and frankly, a great reminder of the history through which I have lived. When I was younger, I missed some of those historic interviews due to youthful disinterest. As an older woman, I am now a political junkie and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Walter's interviews in the first part of her career. I appreciated the fact that she didn't clutter the book with the actor celebrity interviews with which our current society seems so obssessed. This was also a great reminder of all that Barbara Walters did to break the barriers for women in the news/entertainment industry. I would suggest this book to younger women as a history lesson since some of them seem to take so much for granted. As Barbara Walters focused and worked her way up the hierarchy of the communications world, she also changed it for everyone following her, female and male.
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