Noah Adams on "All Things Considered": A Radio Journal [Hardcover]

Noah Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1992

Over its 20-year history, National Public Radio's "All things Considered" has become a daily "must-listen" for millions of Americans. Now host Noah Adams gives listeners a "must-read" look behind the scenes at this landmark show. The result is a delight for every fan of what Time calls "the most literate, trenchant, and entertaining news program on the radio".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Now in its 21st year, National Public Radio's All Things Considered covers both news and feature stories. Adams, who has been the host of the program since 1979, here examines the year from June 4, 1989, to June 4, 1990--a signal period when the news included the massacre of students in Tiananmen Square, the death of the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran, the toppling of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of democracy in Eastern Europe, and the release from prison of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Adams tells how these events were covered on NPR, and explains as well who covered them, what those reporters are like and why certain news-making people were selected for in-depth profile pieces. For the program's regular listeners, the book will provide an opportunity to get better acquainted with people who are like old friends; for those unfamiliar with the show, it will prove less interesting.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

The story behind National Public Radio's ``All Things Considered'' stories. Adams, longtime co-host for ``All Things Considered,'' NPR's news program, offers his journal for 1989--the year the Berlin Wall came down, Communism began crumbling in Eastern Europe, Tiananmen Square erupted, and the Ayatollah died. To provide a firsthand feel for his job, the author, who develops many NPR stories on his own, intersperses radio interviews--some previously aired, some not--with travel notes and entries from his personal diary. Adams tells us why interviews work, or don't work: Most reporters will turn off the tape recorder when the interviewee begins speaking of a ``way of life,'' he says, figuring that the person has run out of things to say and is now parroting what he or she has heard on TV. The author tells of his background--rock 'n' roll DJ; program director; sales manager-- and his worst moment in radio: While announcing for a small station, lightning struck the station's antenna, putting the broadcast off the air for an hour--and no one called up to complain. But the trouble is that even though Adams relates many interesting stories--of a schizophrenic trumpet player, of piano movers in Manhattan, etc.--his narrative is too fragmented, with a new entry, a new location, a new story every few pages. There's also too much that could have stayed in Adams's personal diary- -that he ordered a cheddar omelet, went for a two-mile run, donated books to the library, spent $16.25 on two lobsters, and so on. But when Adams bears down and develops a story, as in the pages he devotes to his stay in Romania during the political turmoil there, his writing is strong and involving. Unfocused, but still likely to appeal to ``All Things Considered'' fans. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 332 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st edition (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393030431
• ISBN-13: 978-0393030433
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,200,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars For the NPR junkie, August 23, 2004

By 

C W Breaux (Fruita, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Noah Adams on "All Things Considered": A Radio Journal (Hardcover)

I listen to National Public Radio primarily for the news programs. I've had this book for a while & finally read it. Noah Adams has been a co-host of their evening news program, All Things Considered (ATC), for many years. This book is a journal he wrote of a year of ATC, roughly June 1989 to June 1990. The book is more interesting for the insight it gives to how the program is put together rather than the actual stories themselves. You learn how reporters & anchors research and write the stories, & you find out what other people such as producers & engineers do. The reason I didn't give it more than 3 stars is that the book never really grabbed me. It is a good bedtime book in that it is broken up into individual days from one to a few pages, so you can read a little or a lot & then turn out the light & sack out.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book!!, June 11, 2004

By 

J. McAndrew "Jeffrey C. McAndrew" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Noah Adams on "All Things Considered": A Radio Journal (Hardcover)

As a broadcaster myself, I found Mr. Adam's book very interesting. It's a good insider's view of PBS.

Some folks on the far right should read this book, they might learn something.

Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy"