Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters
|
List Price: Our Price: $0.92 You Save: $29.03 (97%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Audition: A Memoir
Book Review: She really had something to write about !!
Summary: 5 Stars
What a remarkable woman, and what an amazing career and life she has had! When you first open this book of almost 600 pages, the very first thing that grabs you is the flyleaf--before you even turn a page of the book, there begins an alphabetical listing (continued on the inside back cover) of the many famous interviews she has had, with names so big that a meeting with any one of them would be a lifetime event for most of us. And she lists at least 600 of them! Everyone knows about her chats with the presidents and their wives, other heads of state, and celebrities of all kinds. But Walters reminds us that she went on to develop more personal ties with some of them: Richard Nixon, Fidel Castro, and Sadat and Begin during the peace process, for example. During a few of her chapters, you can see where she crossed the line from being simply a journalist to being someone who actively helped to shape events herself. At a minimum, she was certainly instrumental in crafting how the public saw the major stories and players of her day, and there is always an intricate dance between an emerging public perception and what happens subsequently. Walters chased down, for months and if need be for years, the interviews she wanted to land--and there was always fierce competition to snare what she calls these "gets." In the long run, it was one of the things that burned her out on network journalism and caused her to turn more toward her top-rated Specials and The View. Along the way, however, I think she earned a Ph.D. in history and another one in political science.
But no doubt this book will be best remembered for the candor with which Walters speaks of her own personal issues. We hear all about her engaging father (whose many brilliant show businesses successes each ultimately ended in failure), her depressed and insecure mother (who suffered from the blows of fate until her death at 91), her mentally retarded sister Jackie (whom Walters both loved and hated), and her three marriages and numerous affairs (causing her to say that she will never marry again). But Walters' greatest love is for her adopted daughter Jackie, who moved from a teenage rebellion involving drugs and running away to a successful later career running a residential therapy facility for girls. Secondarily, we hear about the frosty on-camera relationships she had with her male colleagues Frank McGee and Harry Reasoner. Sexism was alive and well in the television field as Walters began and advanced her career, and it is stinging to be reminded of just how blatant and cruel it was. Any reader approaching a "tell all" memoir of this scope will want to know if the author was honest in telling her story and, as far as I can tell, Walters pulled no punches and held little back. The writing is good, the short chapters are easy to read, and this is the kind of book that you want to go on and on.
As a final note, the photos Walters provides are a delicious meal in their own right. Although not arranged in chronological order, they are an important counterpoint to the text. Many depict individuals not much discussed in the book, so they provide an amplification of her story. And, yes, perhaps Walters did not start out as the prettiest face in the business, but with great care she has grown more beautiful through the years. She now appears quite lovely. Though she is coy about her age, you can infer that she is breathing upon 80. We should all look so good! I started this read as a mild fan, and now I truly admire her. Hats off to you, Barbara!
Book Review: Walters writes with an enormous amount of pathos
Summary: 5 Stars
Without reading a single word, you can get the flavor of AUDITION simply by opening the front or back cover. Instead of a design, there is a list of the hundreds of notable people who Barbara Walters has interviewed throughout her years as a broadcast journalist: emperors, presidents, queens, kings, actors, comedians, politicians, sports stars, musicians, singers, religious figures, business leaders and six Kennedys. The roster is as comprehensive and varied as it is impressive.
In her first book in 38 years, Walters provides a lengthy personal history, including stories about her mentally challenged sister, who passed away in 1985 and in whose memory this memoir is dedicated. Her father, Lou Walters, was the owner and creative mind behind the legendary Latin Quarter nightclub, and she learned much from him about taking risks and the effects that such a lifestyle can have on relationships. There are many family pictures along with informal photos of her with several of her famous interviewees.
As a recent fan of "The View," I was very interested in reading about the backstage stories --- particularly those concerning Star Jones and Rosie O'Donnell --- and the hiring process for the hosts. An extremely popular show, "The View" was not something Walters initially wanted to get involved with. At the time she was extremely busy and juggling a number of projects, so she almost passed up the opportunity. She even shares her reasons for not divulging much personal information on the program.
To me, the test of a great autobiography is if you can hear the author speaking the written words. Walters writes with an enormous amount of pathos. Remembrances of her family, husbands, lovers and friends are sincere, and at times brutally honest. "Though I've lived in varying degrees of anxiety throughout the course of my career, I've never really changed my attitude. I've worked as hard or harder than anyone else, accepted every assignment, done my homework, kept complaints to myself, finished the job, and moved on. That's not a bad formula for success." Not only does she share her experiences with these famous figures, she also presents a moving story about one woman's life as a legend in her own time.
There are very few people of Walters's age who still have the drive and ambition to succeed, the dedication to her profession and the commitment to excellence she exhibits. She has a knack for making people open up their lives to us and show their vulnerability. We can all name at least two or three interviews we have seen where she asks probing questions, eliciting responses that surprise and sometimes shock the television audiences tuned in. We read here some of the details of these conversations, the revelations and secret moments.
AUDITION comprises more than 50 chapters, each one worth reading. There are so many stories here, so many opportunities to reveal information and insights that will thrill us. As readers, we appreciate Walters's incredible talents, her ability and especially her willingness to share.
--- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher
Book Review: An Extraordinary Life and Book
Summary: 5 Stars
At nine o'clock this morning, I arrived at Barnes and Noble, picked up Audition and sat down to read with a cup of coffee. I read for hours, bought the book and continued reading at home.
At over 600 pages, this book cannot be read in a day. However, I have read enough to report that the book is magnificent; extremely well- written, very pleasurable to read and absolutely fascinating.
Thankfully, there is also a detailed index. I found myself eying the index and flipping through to certain sections. I enjoyed reading about Walters' experience with the application form and other details at my alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College.
Open this book and on the inside jacket is a listing of the hundreds (thousands?) of people who Barbara Walters has interviewed and knows. It's pretty staggering, actually.
Born September 25, 1929, Barbara Walters has led an extraordinary life. Walters was first known as a TV morning news anchor and became the first female evening news anchor and many of us know her as the interviewer who can make anyone cry. Walters has spent decades reporting the news and interviewing, extracting juicy details and information out of world leaders, celebrities, heads of state and other VIP's.
In Audition, we get to learn about Walter's personal and professional life and her relationships with many of the most famous people in the world.
In the prologue, Walters states: "It feels to me that my life has been one long audition--an attempt to make a difference and to be accepted."
I was quite moved by her introduction and her feelings about her mentally challenged older sister, Jackie. Walters credits her sister as being the strongest influence in her life and credits her for teaching Walters about compassion and understanding--the traits that have made her such an outstanding interviewer.
"I've guarded my sister's privacy for years." Walters writes. "And although she was the central force in my life, she was part of the package that I'm about to unwrap on these pages."
Walter's warmth and compassion comes through in this book and you come to care very deeply about her. She writes in a conversational tone and the book is very enjoyable to read.
One statement Walters makes I found strange, however; she writes: "I was then, and still am, attracted to men who are smart and powerful. I'm not sure why. I think it's because I'd always hoped there would be a strong, successful man to take care of me so I wouldn't have to take care of myself."
Really? Or is it simply that like seeks like--why would Walters seek a stupid and weak partner?
In spite of that statement, I see hope and inspiration in this book especially for young women and girls, because it shows that a woman can be highly intelligent, tough and successful and still be a woman.
From the author of the award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet.
Book Review: Hats Off to the Incredible Barbara Walters
Summary: 5 Stars
In the Prologue of this fascinating memoir, Barbara Walters explains that one of her motivations for writing about her life was that young people starting out in television sometimes said to her: "I want to be you." Barbara's stock reply was: "Then you have to take the whole package."
In Audition, Barbara brilliantly reveals her "whole package," including the love mixed with resentment she felt toward her mentally challenged sister Jackie, her "rags to riches" childhood inspired by her brilliant and mercurial impresario of a father, her frustrated and conflicted mother, her amazing career in television, the adoption of her beloved daughter Jackie whose teen years were tumultuous, and yes, her three marriages and many more affairs.
I have always liked Barbara's blunt approach: getting personal with the hundreds of ordinary (and often infamous) people, politicians, and show-biz celebrities she interviewed. I had fantasized a career in television during its infancy in the 1950s, but like so many other women of my era, thought my gender (among other things) would make it impossible. So I chose to read Audition, to help me learn what I had missed. I applaud Barbara Walters for her achievements and for having the chutzpah to tell her readers more than just the glamorous parts of her life story. My only complaint is that each time Walters mentioned an interview she'd done with world leaders, I wanted to see it again. (At the end of her book, I did note that some of her interviews are being broadcast on Sirius radio, so they are still available.)
In a recent interview, Oprah Winfrey asked Walters: "What does being "Barbara Walters" mean?" Walters' answer illustrates what I thought was special about her memoir--her ability to get personal and tell the truth without mincing words:
"I'm not sure. I realize how blessed I have been but sometimes I still feel inadequate. I don't cook. I can't drive. Most of the time, when I look back on what I've done, I think: Did I do that? Why didn't I enjoy it more? Was I working too hard to see?"
Oprah's eyes teared up at this. She and every other hard-working woman of this era know all that they've had to give up in order to achieve.
The overall lesson from Barbara Walter's fine book: be conscious of the price you'll pay for success in any arena, including motherhood--and if this is still what you want, go for it.
by Donna Van Straten Remmert
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Book Review: Changing the World for Female Journalists
Summary: 5 Stars
Barbara 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 and got her big break when she did Alpo dog food commercials as a "Today Girl" on NBC's Today Show. She then became the first woman cohost of the Today show, and after a difficult move to ABC, the first female network news co-anchor. "Audition" provides the behind the scenes stories we have come to expect in books like this, as she made history rising against all odds to the top of a male-dominated industry.
"Audition" is filled with star-studded stories about her famous and infamous interviewees including Richard Nixon, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, Shah of Iran, Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Katherine Hepburn, Yasir Arafat, Warren Beatty, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Roy Cohn, the Dalai Lama, Princess Diana, King Hussein, Angelina Jolie, Henry Kissinger, Monica Lewinsky, Rosie O'Donnell, Christopher Reeve . . . the list goes on and on.
Walters weaves a very human narrative of her family throughout the book; a narrative that provides clues to where she got her drive, the choices she made, her three failed marriages, being attracted to older (and often married) men, and her willingness to take risk. There is her risk-taking father, Lou Walters, the mercurial nightclub impresario who made and lost several fortunes; her long suffering mother; the family's descent from the penthouse to rent-controlled apartments; her mentally disabled sister, Jackie, who taught her much about patience and compassion; and the troubled teen years of her adopted daughter, Jackie (named in honor of her sister) who got hooked on amphetamines.
"Audition" is a very readable portrait of a deftly calculating woman with an impeccable sense of timing and incredible luck. Walters has given us a story that is heartbreaking and honest, surprising and fun, sometimes startling, and always fascinating. This makes a great companion book to Katie Couric's recently published biography, "Katie: The Real Story."