Customer Reviews

The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bill Carter has written an extraordinary book.Structurally-given the mass of information,biographical detail and anecdotes involved-this could have ended up as a mess,but in fact it is clear,coherent and quite exceptionally well-balanced.Carter has to tell a fairly complicated (certainly very convoluted)story,and he does so brilliantly.He also has to find space to acknowledge and evaluate a broad range of opinions,and,again,he does so with remarkable discipline and even-handedness.Even if one knows little about the magnificent Letterman and the super-professional Leno,this book is still too interesting,too insightful and too fair-minded to miss.

A thoroughly entertaining and insightful look at these two personalities and the even more entertaining and often comical workings of corporate broadcasting. A must for anyone who mixes business and talent relations for a living.

Johnny Carson will forever be KING OF LATE NIGHT, for 30 years his wit and charm set a standard in after evening programming. In this excellent book Bill Carter analyzes who will get the late night institution; "Nice Guy" Jay Leno or "Razor Sharp" Dave Letterman. It also explores how when Johnny left he not only set NBC on fire he put ALL of late night programming up in flames. GREAT BOOK! Must Read!

This book is absolutely riveting. No matter which late night show host you prefer, you will appreciate both of them more after seeing how hard they work at what they do.

It was a heck of a battle, and some folks didn't exactly play fair. Letterman, by far the more deserving of the "King of Late Night" crown following Carson's unceremonious ousting, tried to win by being the best at what he does. Leno's camp won by using strongarm tactics, bullying, and underhandedness. Even Leno's show "borrows" rather heavily from Dave's old show, partly because his people lured Letterman's chief writers to their side. Leno may be a decent guy (I hear), but his management quite literally stole The Tonight Show for him. Dave was hoping to be let in through the front door, but Leno's camp broke in through a window. The companion HBO movie treatment of this book is also a very entertaining and enlightening dramatization of the basics of this ordeal.

Man, I have read this book beginning to end maybe 10 times.
It is addictive. It reads like a great novel starting with the king stepping down and the princes fighting for the crown.

A must read for comedy addicts and fans of late night

Amazing. Absolutely Amazing. There's somethign for everyone. Leno Fans tried of their hero's good guy image get to see him squatting on a box, spying on a GE Board Meeting. Letterman Fans get to see their hero angry as heck when NBC let's him know that they've given his lifelong dream to chin-boy, after 10 years of faithful service on their network. Johnny stuck in the center, with NBC begging for his help, obviously siding with Dave, but committed to stay out of it. There is no better story for E! True Hollywood or any fan of Late Night.

The actual story behind this book is interesting, and it's nice to get a chance to examine the personalities of Jay Lenoand David Letterman, but Bill Carter's writing is unbearably bad. This book has all the style of a bad true crime book. The story kept me involved, but the writing was very irritating. (Especially terrible was the repeated use of the word "coronated".)

More than a tabloid-style story of egos, this book goes deeper into the decision making process of television management (pretty comically poor BTW). You get to meet Jay and Dave and all the players behind the scenes. The TV Movie did not do this book justice.

Loved this book, finished it in less then a week. Really provided more context and back story about all of the characters and was well-written and well-researched.