Audition: A Memoir

by Barbara Walters

book data

988 ratings, 3.48 average rating, 424 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		13%
4		38%
3		33%
2		10%
1		3%

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published

May 6th 2008 by Knopf

binding

Hardcover, 624 pages

isbn

030726646X (isbn13: 9780307266460)

description

Autobiographical account of TV's most popular celebrities--Barbara Walter's detailed account of her rise in the world of journalism and broadcasting a...more

[close] Autobiographical account of TV's most popular celebrities--Barbara Walter's detailed account of her rise in the world of journalism and broadcasting and personal experiences which played important roles in their struggle to get there.

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.

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08/24/08

Bridget rated it:

Read in August, 2008

This isn't a particularly well-written memoir, but certainly a worthwhile read (especially if you have an uncontrollable love of The View, like me).

Barbara Walters had a really interesting childhood - her father was a nightclub producer who constantly went between success and bankruptcy, so Babs grew up on each end of the economic spectrum.

Her career in television was pretty groundbreaking, which we take for granted at this point. She had no background in journalism, bu...more This isn't a particularly well-written memoir, but certainly a worthwhile read (especially if you have an uncontrollable love of The View, like me).

Barbara Walters had a really interesting childhood - her father was a nightclub producer who constantly went between success and bankruptcy, so Babs grew up on each end of the economic spectrum.

Her career in television was pretty groundbreaking, which we take for granted at this point. She had no background in journalism, but ended up becoming the first female co-anchor on television. She speaks about this milestone without aggrandizing herself; she's quite nonchalant about it saying that to her, she was just trying to do good work so as not to loose her job.

The middle section of the book is where she discusses significant interviews she did with world leaders in the 70s, focusing on her role in bringing Middle East politics to the attention of the US audience.

From there on through the end, the book is more or less a checklist of famous people she has interviewed and personal anecdotes. It's not too insightful, nothing I can't see in an hour on a "Best of Barbara Walters Specials". I would have preferred that she spend more time on her early career and the gender politics she so successfully navigated. (Though I might say, despite being an important figure in the feminist movement - like it or not, she was - I got the impression that she prefers the company of men. It seemed like she only saw her female counterparts as competition instead of colleagues.)

She does discuss her personal life: three failed marriages; growing up feeling resentful of a mentally disabled sister; a daughter who went through troubling teenage years; constantly feeling the pressure of needing to provide for her family and fear of not being able to provide for herself due to her father's financial inadequacies; the difficulties in balancing a career and motherhood. She's honest about things she wishes that she could have done differently in the past, and I respect that she addressed them in print.

Note to fans of The View: There is one chapter dedicated to the show, but it is far too short and should have had way more gossip. (less)

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06/26/08

Karynn rated it:

Read in June, 2008

I really enjoyed this book. I am not a huge fan of non-fiction but found Barbara's story both informative and entertaining. She really had to work to get to where she is today and personally gave up a lot on the way.

The peak back into history was also very interesting and as she points out in the book, issues that we are facing today are issues that we have faced in the recent past. Barbara was a newswoman who was able to interview many of the world’s leaders (Fidel Castro, Ya...more

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05/30/08

Hilda rated it:

Read in July, 2008

recommends it for: everybody!

I finally finished "Audition". It took me a long time not because it's difficult to read - it's definitely not - I just read it in small increments. I really enjoyed the book. Although quite long (500+ pages) I didn't find it had any slow sections, which i find often happens in long books, particularly memoirs.

I've always liked Walters well enough, and this book may have made me like her a bit less. Although her professional accomplishments are spectacular, no question...more I finally finished "Audition". It took me a long time not because it's difficult to read - it's definitely not - I just read it in small increments. I really enjoyed the book. Although quite long (500+ pages) I didn't find it had any slow sections, which i find often happens in long books, particularly memoirs.

I've always liked Walters well enough, and this book may have made me like her a bit less. Although her professional accomplishments are spectacular, no question, I found her - at least the way she presents herself in this book - to be rather shallow. For example, I am bothered that she goes out of her way to not reveal her age (she'll be 79 in September) when anyone can do what I did and Google it! Hell, if I were 79 and looked the way she looks and was still working in my chosen profession I'd holler it from the roof tops!

The story of her professional trajectory is fascinating because of the barriers she broke down without really meaning to - she just did it. She talks about a lot of the interviews she had with a plethora of fascinating people, and I found myself remembering them. When put all together the way they're presented in the book, you realize she really has interviewed practically anyone who was anyone in the last 40 years! A clear representation of that is the inside of the front and back covers where the names of all the people she's interviewed are listed alphabetically - very cool.

Not only did she interview important people, in some cases, she actually played small parts in the actual history, serving as a go-between or delivering messages. Again, very cool. Also, in addition to describing the interviews, getting the interviews, etc. she also provides a brief historical overview, enough so that we can understand why the interview was significant and what the ramifications were.

Despite her exposure to the world however, she came across to me as somewhat naive and rather old-fashioned in some aspects. She is after all a woman of her generation and although I'm not in any way saying she's a racist, at points she views and reacts to racial issues as a person of her generation would, and it's a little jarring - at least to me. And although she's obviously clever, she doesn't strike as particularly intelligent.

There's also the matter of her affairs with married men (yes there was more than one) that personally disappoints me. However, she is very honest about her difficulties raising her daughter, her inability to maintain a marriage, and her inability to deal in a healthy manner with her family's issues.

I definitely recommend the book and encourage everyone to not be intimidated by the length of the book - again it is very easy to read and will bring back a lot of memories - as Walters has been witness to a lot of history.

By the way, I don't care what she says - I still think she slept with Fidel Castro!
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06/11/08

Erica rated it:

Read in June, 2008

I cant remember why i wanted to read this book, but apparently I requested it from the library. I was a little apprehensive about trying to read it in 7 days due to the length and the fact that i seem to have a short attention span these days (Livermore Library only lets you check out new books for 7 days! a policy change is in order - at least give us 10).

The book is actually well written and kept my attention throughout. It was interesting to read about how she started out in the ...more

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08/13/08

Red rated it:

bookshelves: biography, sf

Read in August, 2008

Meh. It was interesting reading about Barbara's early life, but once she started her actual career it was just name dropping to the Nth degree. I actually skipped around the last 2/3rds of the book. Read the chapter entitled "Sept. 11th, and then nothing else mattered." But only a few paragraphs actually deal with the tragedy and how she felt or responded and the rest is just more of the same this name and that name. Blah, blah, blah. Possibly the most informative chapter for me, was t...more

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07/07/08

Librarian Wonder rated it:

bookshelves: adultnonfiction, biographymemoir, pop

Stay with me here. It was good, really. Yes, Barbara Walters is cheesy. Yes, she has antiquated ideas. But man, her life is interesting. She dated closeted Ray Cohn, partner in crime to Joseph McCarthy! Errol Flynn hit on her at a party! She was cooling out socially with Henry Kissinger! She had a Baroness working for her as her kid's governess! She doesn't seem to have any political misgivings about anything, which was a little disturbing. In fact, in true reporter form, perhaps, she steers awa...more

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02/18/09

Judy rated it:

I wasn't sure that I was willing to read 600 pages about the life of Barbara Walters, but I'm glad that I took the plunge. A highly enjoyable book in which Walters peels back the layers of her life and let's us look inside. Her descriptions of her childhood with her father who was always looking for the pot of gold with his nightclubs in both Miami and New York (The Latin Quarter), a mentally challenged older sister, and a mother who was alternately depressed and anxious were fascinating. It'...more

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02/03/09

Ellen rated it:

I read this book mostly because I like to butt into other people's business, honestly. I have watched The View and Barbara's interviews on tv, of course, and have always thought she was an intelligent woman and a good journalist, but beyond that haven't given much thought to her one way or the other - she always seemed very professional and proper. I pictured her going home in the evening to a nice cup of tea and feeling rich and smug. After reading her book, I can report that I was exactly h...more

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01/31/09

Sandie rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Who better to write a tell-all book about Barbara Walters than the woman herself. In her memoir, AUDITION, Walters tells of the men in her personal life; husbands and lovers who ranged from bland and boring to fascinating and profound. While she searched for, and to date has never found, the romantic Prince Charming to fulfill her private life, it seems that her professional life has more than compensated for those personal losses.

She has managed to cultivate a plethora of prominent...more

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01/03/09

Pris robichaud rated it:

Read in January, 2008

Is Barbara A Journalist Or Is She Cher?" asks WalterCronkite, May 22, 2008
"Walters nonetheless takes care to report on the very public drubbing she received at the hands of her male peers during the summer between her departure from "Today" and the start of her tenure at ABC. "I am trying to have an open mind about it," was the less-than-supportive statement her future co-anchor Harry Reasoner made to the papers. CBS News president Richard Salant asked, "...more Is Barbara A Journalist Or Is She Cher?" asks WalterCronkite, May 22, 2008
"Walters nonetheless takes care to report on the very public drubbing she received at the hands of her male peers during the summer between her departure from "Today" and the start of her tenure at ABC. "I am trying to have an open mind about it," was the less-than-supportive statement her future co-anchor Harry Reasoner made to the papers. CBS News president Richard Salant asked, "Is Barbara a journalist or is she Cher?" while Walter Cronkite announced that Walters' move gave him "the sickening sensation that we're all going under." Rebecca Traister

By now Barbara Walters has been on every TV, radio and media event to publicize her new book, 'Audition'. There is very little we do not know about her. Barbara is an icon to many, as she was the first woman to co-star on NBC's 'Today'. She went on to appear on ABC's nightly news with Harry Reasoner. Her unfortunate experiences colored the feeling so many women had towards Barbara's male colleagues. She certainly tried to break the barriers.

Barbara's early childhood was difficult but it gave her a certain confidence on how to relate with almost anyone. Her father, Lou Walters, was rarely home and at one point wanted a divorce from his wife. Barbara's mother cajoled her into going to her father and begging him not to leave his family. From that moment on what interview could be more difficult than that? As we are learn the interviews came one after another and Barbara became the competitive woman she is today. She tells us in this book, that she is through auditioning, but if, someone were to call her and say that Osama Ben Laden was willing to grant an interview, she would be ready. Barbara tells us of the difficulty she had with her young daughter, Jackie. Jackie became a drug addict and left home. Barbara assisted Jackie in putting her life together and today they have a wonderful relationship. Jackie was named after Barbara's sister Jackie. She was disabled and Barbara spent much if her childhood alone. She did not want to bring anyone home. Though Barbara was very attentive to her sister and to her familyh. At a certain point in her life, she was the breadwinner for the entire family.

Barbara has been married three times. Many wonder if Barbara has been looking for her father. Why do we care and why do we wonder? Barbara reveals the loves and lives of some of the men she met along the way. The most shocking to many people, was her affair with Sen. Edward Brooks. With these revelations, Barbara has attempted to show us that she is a regular person who has had a life of ups and downs, miseries and happiness . She has experienced a life that most of us would envy but she wonders if she had the time to appreciate all that her life afforded. She has interviewed most of the famous people in her world. But did she have fun during this time?

"Surely the finest and most revealing moment in "Audition" comes near the end, when Walters describes being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, for O magazine, on the occasion of her retirement from "20/20." Oprah asks her what it "means" to be Barbara Walters, a question that may exceed even the high Walters-ian bar for pop-psych pseudo-depth. Walters responds that she's not sure. "I realize how blessed I have been but sometimes I still feel inadequate," she tells Oprah. "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?" As Walters reports in her book, "I looked up at Oprah and saw that she had tears in her eyes." And there it is, the meaning of Barbara Walters. She can even make her interviewer cry." Nicholas Lemann

'Audition' has been likened to Katharine Graham's autobiography, 'Personal History'. There is a slight resemblance, but what is missing from Barbara Walter's book is the frankness of Katharine Graham. The inner revelation of the woman, and the one story after another of the public people she has interviewed. There are not enough stories interwoven to bring this storyline continuity. However, this book is highly entertaining and even at its great length, 579 pages.

Recommended. prisrob 05-22-08
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06/25/09

Scott rated it:

I am sure there are going to be people who think that Barbara Walters is nothing more than an arrogant uptight snob who only interviews the rich and famous, let me say that would be a wrong assumption to make.

For years, I like millions of others have found Ms. Walters to be one the best journalist on tv. In Audition, Walters, who has a made living from drilling down to the personal lives others, finally opens up about her own private life.

Family is the core of the book. W...more

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04/10/09

Mazola1 rated it:

Audition is the fascinating and funny memoir of Barbara Walters, a pioneering woman in broadcasting. Walters really did live through the Golden Age of Television, indeed, she helped to make it so. In her storied career,she interviewed everyone from Presidents to murderers. From being taken on a jeep ride by Fidel Castro through the mountains of Cuba to doing a television special on Saudia Arabia, a country impossible for most outsiders to visit, she had and shared on television many unbelievea...more Audition is the fascinating and funny memoir of Barbara Walters, a pioneering woman in broadcasting. Walters really did live through the Golden Age of Television, indeed, she helped to make it so. In her storied career,she interviewed everyone from Presidents to murderers. From being taken on a jeep ride by Fidel Castro through the mountains of Cuba to doing a television special on Saudia Arabia, a country impossible for most outsiders to visit, she had and shared on television many unbelieveable and memorable experiences. Along the way, she virtually created the celebrity interview genre, and saw it change with the times in her decades of television interviews and specials.

Many would (and did) call Walters pushy, calculating and talented. She would probably describe herself as tenacious, tough, hardworking and lucky. She says she had the advantage of being ahead of the game, observing, "How lucky I was." The explanation for her success? "I've worked as hard or harder than anyone else, accepted most every assignment, done my homework, kepts complaints to myself, finished the job, and moved on. That is not a bad formula for success."

Walters' career included serious interviews with heads of state, including every U.S. President from Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush, foreign leaders such as Golda Meir, Saddam Hussein and Boris Yeltsin, and significant and varied figures like Bill Gates and the Dalai Lama. Increasingly, as time passed, public interest in these types of interviews waned, and the big ratings getters were the celebrity interviews. Emblematic of this shift, and of the growing popularity of stars and scandal, is the fact that Walters describes Monica Lewinsky as the biggest "get" of her career.

Equally revealing is her last 20/20 interview. A big part of the reason she decided to leave the show was that television news magazine shows were changing, shifting from hard news interviews and stories to those featuring murderers and celebrities, especially those with problems. For Walters' last interview, the network brass had to chose between an interview with George W. Bush or one with Mary Kay Letourneau, a California schoolteacher who seduced a teenage student, had a child with him, spent six years in jail for violating a restraining order prohibiting her from having contact with him, and went on to marry him and have another child with him. The choice came down to the President of the United States or a convicted child molester. Walters describes the decision and her reaction to it: "The child molester? The President? The powers that be chose Mary Kay Letourneau. I rest my case."

If it seems like Barbara Walters is the ultimate name dropper, maybe that's because she knew and interviewed hundreds and hundreds of "names." (The inside cover, which is covered with the names of those she interviewed, makes fascinating reading by itself.) Her observations and stories about the rich, the famous, the infamous, the celebrated, the powerful and the talented are pithy, incisive, revealing and often witty. Included are her thoughts on the difficulty of trying to combine a career, marriage and family and how television has changed in 50 years, becoming ever more celebrity obsessed. At almost 600 pages, it's a big book, but somehow I think Walters' biggest problem may have been how to keep it from being even longer. Not that I would have minded that. Bravo, Barbara! (less)

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12/28/08

Harriet rated it:

I slugged through this book! Her early life was most interesting. But really tired of the intimate details of everything else. What? Did she keep a journal? How did she remember what everyone said? And the name dropping really got to me. I was determined to finish it, but it was done with a lot of speed reading.

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05/20/09

Suzanne rated it:

bookshelves: biography, nonfiction

Read in May, 2009

Barbara Walters writes the way she talks and the informal style is conversational and pleasant. But something essential is missing in Barbara's recounting of her life. There is sadness and melodrama, affairs and broken marriages, professional triumphs and personal loss on every page in this lengthy book. Barbara is quite honest and critical in her self assessments and does not gloss over her personal mistakes. Nonetheless her life's meaning seems to be about "celebrity", not a sur...more

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06/19/08

Mara rated it:

bookshelves: currently-reading

I am currently reading Barbara Walters memoir. It's very interesting and I'm only through 50 pages. I keep hearing her voice in my head narrating her life. Pretty cool... I haven’t reached anything scandalous yet, just a lot of background about her younger years. I was curious to learn she was (according to her)... "Very shy and introverted"... Hard to imagine that she made it in such an aggressive and cut throat profession... More to come I'm sure.

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12/13/08

Pat rated it:

Read in December, 2008

You have to like Barbara Walters at least a little bit in order to like this memoir. And there is a lot in the book that is interesting, from her childhood to her marriages and affairs to anecdotes about some of her more famous interviews to "behind the scenes" portraits of her relationships with people on the various TV shows she has worked on. However, it seems as if she "doth protest too much" abiout some of guilt she says she felt over her relationship with her parents ...more

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01/11/09

Denise rated it:

Read in January, 2009

This book was really good. She conducted some pretty facinating interviews. Some of the chapters got pretty long, especially if I wasn't sure who she was talking about.

Lines I loved from this book:

It feels to me that my life has been one long audition – an attempt to make a difference and to be accepted.

She saw the seams and not the satin.

When we grow up – forgive me for saying this – my life was so much more interesting than theirs. Not nec...more

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04/19/09

Joy marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

Read in January, 2009

I anxiously bought this book; I love Barbara Walters! But I should have realized from past experience and disappointments (Bette Davis, Jerry Seinfeld, et al!) that a great celebrity with a great story does NOT necessarily mean a great BOOK! Ms. Walters should have had this thing ghost written, or simply hired a biographer to do the honors.

It sits by my bedside, so poorly written that I'm almost too bored to care where this exciting life will lead! Here's a woman who has interviewed ...more

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03/20/09

Louise rated it:

bookshelves: memoirs

Read in May, 2008

From dust jacket:

"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...more From dust jacket:

"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 ccompanion, 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 for 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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01/05/09

Cheryl rated it:

Read in January, 2009

recommends it for: anyone in journalism that wants to learn the trade

This book was really long. That doesn't bother me in a fast paced adventure book but this was not one I was glued to.
There were a few chapters that were really interesting. I enjoyed reading about her interviews and travels but I really didn't enjoy reading about her crazy family, her lovers (especially all the married ones- that didn't do much for my opinion of her) and the last couple of chapters that seemed to just be summing up what I had already read.
I found myself skimming ov...more

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