Audition: A Memoir | 
| Author: Barbara Walters
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy Used: $11.25
You Save: $18.70 (62%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  232 reviews
Sales Rank: 1230
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.2 x 2.2
ISBN: 030726646X
Dewey Decimal Number: 070.92
EAN: 9780307266460
ASIN: 030726646X
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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 Chavez, 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 227 more reviews...
 Very revealing! October 1, 2008
Audition: A Memoir
A very revealing life story of a celebrity!
Once into the book, it was hard to put down as I learned more and more about her life. Her success now once again shows how you can do anything you put your mind and efforts to.
 Parts Are Interesting....Poor Jackie September 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have been reading this book slowly over the past 2 weeks. Not because I read slowly, but because the book is pretty boring. I am now stuck in the middle of it questioning if I should continue. I find myself skimming pages to see if she is still talking about the same topic I just bored myself with for the past 10 minutes. Did I really need to read an entire chapter on the "Shah" and his tent party?? Did she need to write an entire chapter on her trip to China with Nixon?? I guess this was exciting for her but in my opinion it was not necessary to set aside a whole chapter for this. I am really bored with this book except for the stories of her personal family. When she finally comes into adulthood, Ms. Walters seems to come across as a self indulgent, self-centered person. She let 2 of her marriages collapse so far from what I read, and her daughter is being raised by two woman who are not related to her. I hope all of her dinners, parties and get togethers have made her happy because her family apparently was not enough. For example, she writes that she would be working all week, traveling all over the place and then choose to go to Connecticut for a weekend with just her husband (no kids), instead of spending it with her husband and child. I did not hear of one family vacation or fun outing as a family and I am half way through the book. I feel bad for her daughter who missed out on a lot. I hope her nannies fulfilled her as a child, because it is apparent that her real mother, Ms. Walters did not.
Audition September 21, 2008
I've read two-thirds of Audition, and did a 180 degree turn in my opinion of Ms. Walters. Her life as a young girl echoes much of mine, with the exception of the financial security. Perhaps it was the time of "children are to be seen, not heard," that made her into a strong and sincere person dealing with her contacts. It was a time when we all had more empathy toward one another, and the "really big show people" having come from the bottom, were "really" big! Great life story! I'd recommend it any day.
A Long Book, But Very Worth the Read September 18, 2008
I loved Ms. Walters' book. It was fun to learn the details of her young life and see how she developed into the journalist and TV personality she is today. The nice surprise is how exciting it was to experience again the important historical times she documented so well as she covered many really important stories over the years. We get to read behind the scenes happenings. For instance, years ago we saw her interview with Fidel Castro, but in the book there is so much more on the subject. Same thing about the talks leading to the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, etc.
Ms. Walters was so careful to thank everyone who helped her in her personal and professional life--she seems like an extremely nice woman. I found myself cheering for all her successes, although she didn't shy away from admitting failures. I think the book is well-written and it was something I was happy to get back to in all my free moments until I finished it.
A unique and interesting life September 11, 2008
This was a very enjoyable read. The best part of the book involves her interviews with famous people. She is able to intersperse tidbits about world leaders, celebrities, politicians and newsmen with her own personal life. Also, she explores her early foray as a journalist and tv host during a time when television was just starting to make an impact. It was interesting to note that Barbara's father was famous in his own right as well and she honestly acknowledges that she got into her career through her father's connections. Of course, she had to keep auditioning to prove herself and eventually became a celebrity herself. Fascinating story!!
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