The Craft of Interviewing [Paperback]

John Brady (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 1977

John Brady, editor of Writer's Digest and himself an accomplished interviewer, has put together an indispensable guide to the art of questioning. In a lively, down-to-earth manner, "The Craft of Interviewing" covers all aspects of the interview process -- getting the interview, doing research, handling the subject face-to-face, hurdling hazards, getting tough, taking notes (on the sly, if need be), taping, dealing with off-the-record types, concluding the interview, verifying it, and writing it up. Brady has also filled the book with a myriad of anecdotes revealing the experiences of some of the best known interviewers of our times. A noteworthy appendix on the history of the interview is included.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

John Brady, editor of Writer's Digest and himself an accomplished interviewer, has put together an indispensable guide to the art of questioning. In a lively, down-to-earth manner, "The Craft of Interviewing" covers all aspects of the interview process -- getting the interview, doing research, handling the subject face-to-face, hurdling hazards, getting tough, taking notes (on the sly, if need be), taping, dealing with off-the-record types, concluding the interview, verifying it, and writing it up. Brady has also filled the book with a myriad of anecdotes revealing the experiences of some of the best known interviewers of our times. A noteworthy appendix on the history of the interview is included.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (August 12, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394724690
• ISBN-13: 978-0394724690
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This captures the essence of interviewing, October 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Craft of Interviewing (Paperback)

I read this book ( published in 1976) many years ago. Since then, I've been a reporter and writer for the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek and Fortune. After a request to teach a journalism class, I purchased the book again, and found that it still captures the essence of interviewing. The examples in the book are a bit dated (it hasn't been revised ), but the underlying truths are still very close to those I've experienced in many interviews throughout my career.

46 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great in the 70s, Outdated in 2000, April 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Craft of Interviewing (Paperback)

It is true that the basics of good interviewing haven't change much over the years, but they have changed some. And this book, while it was surely a must-read in the 70s, is so outdated that I found myself skipping the first chapter, then the second, then the third ... then much of the rest of the book. For example: there is a full chapter, and several pages scattered through the book, that talk about research techniques. This is pre-internet, pre-much-of-what's-out-there-today, and as a result, those 75 or so pages are useless. The same is true for the roughly 25 or 30 pages that talk about how to get an interview, and how to make a good first appearance. This is pre-email, and clearly pre-women's-lib. Many of the tips for women on how to get interviews and make sure they come out successful are down right offensive to women today. Fortunately, most female interviewers no longer have to rely solely on looking nice, batting eyelashes, and agreeing with everything their interviewee has to say. Yes, there are a few good pointers, but to buy and read an entire book for mearly a few pointers isn't necessary. There was nothing here that I hadn't seen elsewhere. For a good, up-to-date book on interviewing, try "Creative Interviewing," by Ken Metzler, it's over priced, but filled with great and useful information.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Smart Part of a Journalist's Library, February 23, 2003

By 

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What should ... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Craft of Interviewing (Paperback)

"The Craft of Interviewing" by John Brady is just one book a beginning journalist should read. Most of journalism involves local newspapers covering local people, and despite how the internet has altered the speed and process of interviewing, good ol' gumshoe journalism still lives and breathes. That's why this book still matters 30 years after it first hit the college bookstores of j-school.

A good interview requires knowledge, diplomacy, fearlessness, rapport, organization, and knowing how to separate and summarize it all for a good story. This book has chapters on all of this. One complete chapter, "Off the Record" discusses some interesting approaches and policies this misunderstood phrase calls for. As you build relationships with key sources, this chapter, and others, can assist you in seeing ways through the thorny challenges of integrity and journalism.

Brady provides anecdotes about complicated interviews and interviewees. Even though these are with celebrities, the examples show the reader how to walk the line carefully and confidently.

"The Craft of Interviewing" by John Brady should not be the only book you read, and probably not your first. I fully recommend it as both a classroom text, and as a personal edification book. Your interviewing will be better you apply what Brady suggests.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com