21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Quick Read, November 17, 2005
Wallace's new book is a good quick read for those interested in really any aspect of 20th century history. Out of the many journalists in the latter half of the century, Wallace has certainly made a name for himself as one of the preeminent interviewers on network television. Yes, his interviewing techniques are harsh, but he really gets to the meat of the story. Wallace's version of history is, however, just one take on events, and this book clearly demonstrates his bias. Take for example the story of Jeffrey Wigand, the Brown & Williamson Tobacco executive who became famous for an interview with 60 Minutes where he alleged that big tobacco CEO's perjured themselves in saying that `nicotine was not addictive.' After CBS tried to pull the interview after the threat of a lawsuit, Wallace, in this book, says that he became outraged by CBS's decision to pull the interview. Wallace writes that he was no longer able to view his producer Don Hewitt "with the respect, much less the affection, that I once had felt so profoundly." Later on in this chapter about Wigand, Wallace criticizes the movie "The Insider" as portraying the CBS journalists as "venal or craven wretches who had no business calling ourselves journalists." The ironic part about this criticism is that the summary of events in Wallace's book about Wigand mirrors the exact events detailed in the movie. It would be interesting if Wallace and Gates would write a whole book about the fallout during the Wigand interview. I admit that I am biased, being a devotee of the movie and I am disappointed that the Wigand controversy is covered in less then 16 pages. Some of the other parts of the book including interviews with pop stars could have been skipped over, but was thrown in merely for marketing purposes. The DVD is really one of the highlights of the whole package. A word of warning however: PLEASE READ THE BOOK BEFORE THE DVD! I believe that this experience is so much better because the DVD really brings alive the stories in the book. I watched the DVD before reading the book unfortunately. One of the pleasures of reading a book is to find new suprises at every turn of the page. After watching the DVD before reading the book, I knew what was coming next, and thus some, not all, of the book was less then suspenseful for me. Overall, a good supplement to Wallace's 1984 biography, `Close Encounters.' Do not expect many new revelations, but do expect a quick read about some of the greatest personalities and events of the 20th century.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A double delight, as it contains a DVD with highlights of his best interviews!, November 15, 2005
How often does a book come along which should delight both readers and non-readers? This one does, because those who aren't fond of reading can simply watch the DVD of Wallace's finest interviews (included with this book).
After that, I'm betting they'll want to read the book, if only to get the kind of details that the DVD only hints at. Wallace not only opens up about his personal life but shares plenty of anecdotes about celebrities and life on the 60 Mintues set.
He also is quite honest about his struggle with a particularly intense depression, one that nearly sidelined him. This section alone should serve as inspiraton to readers who think that successful people are somehow impervious to pain and difficulty. I was impressed by his willingness to speak honestly about this challenging part of his life.
As someone who can (by his own admission) be blunt and perhaps too outspoken at times, Wallace also reveals some of the tiffs and rough moments he has had with some of his subjects- and when and how he made up with most of them...but not all. He had his share of enemies as well as at least one major lawsuit (a lawsuit that may have been a factor in his depression).
Wallace has interviewed an amazing number of famous people, from Richard Nixon to Nancy Reagan, from crooks to celebrities, famous athletes as well as statesmen.
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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A memoir of Mike Wallace's professional life as a hard-hitting journalist and inquisitorial interviewer, November 2, 2005
Mike Wallace, known to generations of TV viewers as a mainstay of the television newsmagazine "60 Minutes," has enjoyed a long and legendary career. Since his salad days as a news correspondent in the medium's early days, and through the various incarnations of his several shows, the often-acerbic Wallace developed a reputation as a hard-hitting inquisitor. He has interviewed presidents and potentates, musicians and murderers, rock stars and racists.
Wallace and co-author Gary Paul Gates, with whom he collaborated on his 1984 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, are reunited for BETWEEN YOU AND ME, a collection of some of these memorable interviews.
The personalities chosen for inclusion in BETWEEN YOU AND ME weigh in at varying levels of interest. In his chapter on "Race in America," Wallace recalls his meetings with Malcolm X and his successor, Louis Farrakhan, who was accused of complicity in the assassination of the leader of the Black Muslims. Farrakhan also shares an emotional scene in the book as he seeks to reconcile with Malcolm X's daughter, Betty Shabazz.
Wallace is at his best when he's up against establishment figures, such as confronting General William C. Westmoreland on his misrepresenting the number of enemy troops during the Vietnam War.
One of Wallace's best attributes is his sense of outrage, even when it comes to complaining about his employers. He almost retired in the face of CBS's refusal to air a segment on the tobacco industry and had numerous, though less volcanic, other disagreements over the years.
His coverage of Middle East topics fills a major portion of the book. Wallace interviewed several top names in the conflict, including Menachem Begin, Anwar Sadat and Yasser Arafat, as well as the Shah of Iran and the Ayatollah Khomeini, giving readers a glimpse of the geopolitically plagued times.
Wallace's feature on Syrian Jews was one of his most controversial, suggesting that the group might not have been as repressed by the government as the world had been led to believe. His unbiased reportage earned him the enmity of Jewish organizations around the world.
On the other hand, Wallace also could be viewed as a bully, depending on the viewer's/reader's point of view. He brought Barbra Streisand to tears by dredging up unhappy memories from her childhood, and was known as one of the major proponents of "attack journalism," suddenly confronting his subject on the street or at their office.
Although the majority of his memoir considers his professional life, he gives a few personal glimpses, none as intense as his revelation of his clinical depression during the libel trial that resulted from the Westmoreland story. The situation was so bad, Wallace writes, that he contemplated suicide.
Whittling down the hundreds of people Wallace has grilled, chilled and thrilled on the air to the handful who appear in BETWEEN YOU AND ME is a daunting task. It would have been interesting to have him explain how he arrived at his choices.
Many of the interviews are featured on an accompanying DVD. This is a bad news/good news situation. The bad news is that the video segments follow the text almost too closely; the publisher easily could have fit more on the disc rather than excerpts. The good news is that these brief examples enhance the text, showing the subject's body language and vocal expressions.
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