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(as of Aug 10, 2024 16:36:29 UTC – Details)
By: Terry Gross (Author)
A fascinating collection of revealing and…
All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists
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Susan Price –
What’s Better than a Fresh Air? A glimpse of Terry Gross!
But the back stories and Terry’s OWN take on some of her interviews is fascinating reading. I often think I know what Terry is thinking during an interview. Most of the time I feel I agree with what I imagine is her perspective. So I was eager to read this and find out if I was right.Well, I was right – and wrong. Terry has all the deep thinking and interesting, nuanced opinions you’d expect her to have. But I found out a lot about Terry Gross that I didn’t know. I came to appreciate her as an interviewer even more, when I realized I’d been projecting my own opinions and perspectives onto her as interviewer, because she’s able to be so transparent.I admire Terry Gross, Diane Rehm and other interviewers who are able to elicit the opinions, feelings and philosophies of the people they talk to. Now I understand a lot more about what it takes to get there – how Terry has to honor her curiosity and find the middle ground.And some of the vignettes are just plain fun. I like to think I’d be able to suffer the tauntings of Gene Simmons without succumbing to anger, but after reading the book I admire Terry for just laying it out there. Nobody’s perfect. None of her subjects, and not Terry herself.Turns out, I didn’t know Terry Gross well at all, even after listening to her for years. I was seeing myself in the mirror of my own perspective. But now that I know her a little better, I like her and her show even more.
JET –
The Perfect Book for Reading Buffs and Fresh Air Fans
If you love Fresh Air and Terry Gross, but can’t catch all of the interviews, this is a great way to catch up on some of the most significant. This book covers writers, actors, musicians, and artists, and includes figures as diverse as Gene Simmons from Kiss to Eric Clapton to John Updike to Conan O’Brien. Keep in mind that the interviews are edited for inclusion in this book, so some are shorter than others, and some are combined with other interviews Terry has conducted with the person.The best thing about the interviews chosen is that every one offers fascinating information, whether it is about a trade, like writing or acting, or about the figure, like Jodie Foster’s feelings on her childhood stardom. Another added bonus to this book is Terry’s introduction to each interview. In some, she adds some context around the interview, such as what she thought about the guest or newspaper reports about the interview. In others, she offers personal information on her preferences and passions, and in others, she provides further biographical information about the guest.I greatly enjoyed reading this collection and read every interview. This is a book that I will keep for years to come, but I am hesitant to give it five stars because I can’t imagine getting anything additional out of it if I reread it. Perhaps some of the interviews would be more meaningful at one time in my life or another, but they aren’t as in-depth or complex as a novel, memoir, or biography, so I don’t feel that this book, as enjoyable and fascinating as it was, is multi-layered.
E. Serrano –
A must have read for NPR and Fresh Air dorks.
I’m digging the book so far. Terry Gross is a personal hero of mine, I wish I can interview just like her. Although it’s not the same as hearing the interview because you can’t tell the nuance of the interviewee’s voice. But I believe that can be fixed by finding the interview in the archives. Nevertheless, I like how she provides context on the interview that she decides to showcase in this book. I wish there will be second volume of the interview because this book was written 10 years ago and more people have been through Fresh Air.She doesn’t explicitly tells you how to interview people but it is inferred through the introductory paragraphs for each interview section. I guess the readers can learn that by close analysis of the transcript.If they do decide to make volume 2. I hope that through the ease of the digital age, they will provide links of said interviews. Also support your local public radio station. I feel that I just have to mention that.
T.C. –
It’s almost like listening to her on air…
If you are a Fresh Air listener, then you’ll definitely enjoy this book. It’s almost like listening to her on the air. It’s like I can hear her voice when she asks her guests questions.If you’re not a Fresh Air listener, it’s a good way to discover an interviewer who has talked with a wide swath of people.Fan or no fan of Fresh Air, reading the book is like reading the transcripts of her interviews. Since her guests are so varied, it’s a great way to discover new authors, artists, actors, statesmen, etc. It’s a great read. I’d recommend buying it!
S. Harris –
A tantalizing taste of the real thing
Others have spoken enough in depth about the contents of the interviews contained within this for me to not waste review space repeating the same thing. What I can say is that this is a fascinating collection of interview snippets of even more fascinating artists. Gross is upfront about the fact that some of these are combined interviews from different times (i.e. Dennis Hopper interviews from 1990 and 1996 merged into one section), so don’t expect that you’re going to get the same experience reading the book as you might listening to her program. This takes the most insightful or interesting sections of those interviews and condenses them into bite-sized portions. It’s a great introduction to Gross’ style of interviewing as well as the people she talks to.
Blink67 –
Some Interesting Tidbits
I liked the variety of interviews with artists, actors, and writers. The focus on creative aspects was most interesting, but the emphasis on sexualality and drugs detracted from this title.
Rolf Auer –
Juicy!