The West Wing Companion

by Ian Jackman, Paul Ruditis, Martin Sheen (Foreword)

Step inside the Bartlet Administration in this detailed official companion to one of televisions most sophisticated dramatic series. Created by Aaron Sorkin, "The West Wing" won nine Emmy Awards in its first season alone, and is acclaimed for its writing, portrayals, and an intelligent, authentic depiction of White House life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Tv, Pop Culture, Reference, Politics, Canon

360 pages, Hardcover

First published November 26, 2001

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is really only for the die-hardiest West Wing fan who's super-anal about collecting memorabilia, OR for someone who doesn't want to take the time to watch the show, but is curious about the content.

The book is basically a brief synopsis of every episode of the first two seasons, with a few choice quotes from each episode. The highlights of the book are the pictures--still shots from episodes and publicity shots--and the sidebar quotes from cast and crew of the show. The summaries aren't even that great--they're like the fifth-grade book report or the college student who doesn't want to be accused of plagiarizing: basically the "author" has taken the major scenes or funniest scenes from each episode and barely reworded the dialogue. Plus, most of the synopses only make sense if you've already seen the episode.

I wouldn't highly recommend this book to anyone except the super-collector. If you're looking for the substance of the book, just go watch the show. Considering the fact that The West Wing is such a beautiful, poetic, eloquent show, this book really doesn't do it justice.

[Eugenio Gomez-acebo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Las dos primeras temporadas de West Wing comentadas capítulo a capítulo. Sólo para ultrafanáticos de la serie como yo.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I ever went on Mastermind, my specialist subject would be the West Wing - my all-time favourite TV show. This book has a synopsis of every episode form the first two seasons, ending with the the superb Two Cathedrals. There are also interviews with the main cast members as well as Aaron Sorkin and some of the producers and a look at the sets.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially a 200 page sales brochure for the first two seasons of the West Wing, it is nonetheless an enjoyable read and reminder of the magic of that show.

[abie]

i already knew a lot of what was said but i really enjoyed reading it anyways

[Carrie]

media studies