| BETWEEN YOU AND ME A Memoir with DVD Mike Wallace Gary Paul Gates New York: Hyperion Books, 2005 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN 1-401-30029-4 | 292pp. | HC/BWI | $26.95 | |
Mike Wallace is a legendary figure in broadcast journalism. At the age of 87, he is still going strong as part of the 60 Minutes team. There, his keen and sometimes abrasive interviewing style has stood him in good stead when his assignment was one of the Medicare swindlers, worker-disability cheaters, or shoddy auto-servicers that long-running CBS news show has profiled over the years. But Wallace has enjoyed a far more varied beat that just white-collar criminals. He's interviewed politicians including the last six presidents, business leaders, Nobel-prize winners and other scientists, a galaxy of American and international celebrities, and even a crime boss or two.
The roster of interviewees featured in this memoir includes President Nixon, Shirley Maclaine, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Vanessa Redgrave, Louis Farakkhan, Margaret Sanger, and Frank Lloyd Wright, to name just a few. The book presents excerpts from the transcripts of their interviews, thoughtful analysis of major events surrounding them, along with anecdotes from Wallace's life. A companion DVD1 contains video clips from 60 Minutes, the show which will be the capstone of his long and eventful career.
I found the book enormously enjoyable. I don't regard it as a keeper, but it's certainly worth reading — even if you're not a fan of the show. For someone who is a 60 Minutes fan, it would make an ideal gift.
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