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Title details for Audition by Barbara Walters - Available

Audition

A Memoir

by Barbara Walters
Bernadette Dunne
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available
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 made Barbara aware of the ups and downs that can occur when someone is willing to take great risks.
The financial responsibility for her family, the fear, the love all 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 has spent a lifetime auditioning, and 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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 6, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415943687
      • File size: 771033 KB
      • Duration: 26:46:19

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Listeners who've been following Barbara Walters's interviews about her new book will notice something missing: Walters's account of her extramarital affair didn't make it into this abridgment. As Walters reads the stories of her life, it often feels like too much has been cut in order to fit in mentions of her life milestones--becoming a "Today" co-host, the Begin-Sadat interview, and her million-dollar contract to become the first female evening news anchor. Walters's heartfelt reading comes through most emphatically as she discusses her troubled relationship with her daughter, Jackie. With a gap made obvious by the TV interviews and cuts that dilute the impact of her accomplishments, this abridged edition of Walters's much-talked-about autobiography will disappoint many listeners. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      September 1, 2008
      Listeners have two recordings of Walters's 580-page tell-all from which to choose. The abridged version is read by the media personality herself, and other than affording listeners her authentic voice, complete with her trademark lisp, this version is not worthwhilelasting just six hours, it omits massive amounts of information; notably, Walters's affair with former senator Edward Brooke.In the unabridged version, Bernadette Dunne does a fine job as a surrogate for Walters. The quality of both versions is excellent, and both are appropriate for audio and biography collections in all types of libraries. The unabridged version is recommended for purchase, though some collections may warrant the abridged, CliffNotes™ edition. [Audio clips available through www.booksontape.comLJ Best Seller, a title most borrowed in U.S. libraries.Ed.]Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ. Lib., NJ

      Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 28, 2008
      Although Walters writes, “It was not in my nature to be courageous, to be the first,” her compulsively readable memoir proves otherwise. No one lasts on TV for more than 45 years without the ability to make viewers feel comfortable, and Walters's amiable persona perfectly translates to the page. She gives us an entertaining panorama of a full life lived and recounted with humor and bracing honesty. Walters is surprisingly candid: about her older sister's retardation, her father's suicide attempt, her midlife affairs (including ones with John Warner—before and after his marriage to Elizabeth Taylor—and a very married Edward Brooke, the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction), her daughter's troubled teen years and her acrimonious relationships with coanchors Frank McGee and Harry Reasoner. She vividly recounts her decision to leave NBC's Today
      Show
      after 14 years to become the first female nightly news coanchor, and tells of the firestorm of criticism she endured for accepting that pioneering position and its million-dollar salary. Alternating between tales of her personal struggles, professional achievements and insider anecdotes about the celebrities and world leaders she's interviewed, this mammoth memoir's energy never flags. 32 pages of photos.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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