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Between You and Me: A Memoir

Name: Between You and Me: A Memoir
Author: Mike Wallace
ISBN: 9781401300296

by Mike Wallace, Gary Paul Gates

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Overview

At the age of 87, Mike Wallace is a legendary figure in broadcast journalism. Now, after 60 years of reporting on important events around the world, he shares his personal stories about the incredible range of celebrities, newsmakers, criminals, and world leaders who have subjected themselves to his unique brand of questioning.Through Wallace's intimate observations about these figures, we experience afresh the pivotal events that have shaped our world. Here, we meet the guilt-racked Secret Service agent assigned to John F. Kennedy's car in Dallas. We learn about the candid moment when President Nixon revealed an unexpected softer side. We witness the underpinnings of the century's greatest social movement through Wallace's eyes as he manages to earn the trust of major civil rights leaders, and we see the trauma Wallace experienced while covering the conflict in Israel. These off-camera anecdotes and fascinating excerpts from Wallace's interviews- with everyone from Eleanor Roosevelt to all the presidents of the last half century, from Frank Lloyd Wright to Johnny Carson, from Margaret Sanger to Malcom X-give us a new perspective on some of the greatest lives and minds of our time.With a reporter's eye for detail, Wallace mingles laughter, tragedy, and revelatory insight in a memoir unlike any other. For anyone who's ever wondered what it's like to make history for a living, this is a must-read.

Synopsis

At the age of 87, Mike Wallace is a legendary figure in broadcast journalism. Now, after 60 years of reporting on important events around the world, he shares his personal stories about the incredible range of celebrities, newsmakers, criminals, and world leaders who have subjected themselves to his unique brand of questioning. Through Wallace's intimate observations about these figures, we experience afresh the pivotal events that have shaped our world. Here, we meet the guilt-racked Secret Service agent assigned to John F. Kennedy's car in Dallas. We learn about the candid moment when President Nixon revealed an unexpected softer side. We witness the underpinnings of the century's greatest social movement through Wallace's eyes as he manages to earn the trust of major civil rights leaders, and we see the trauma Wallace experienced while covering the conflict in Israel. These off-camera anecdotes and fascinating excerpts from Wallace's interviews -- with everyone from Eleanor Roosevelt to all the presidents of the last half century, from Frank Lloyd Wright to Johnny Carson, from Margaret Sanger to Malcom X -- give us a new perspective on some of the greatest lives and minds of our time.

With a reporter's eye for detail, Wallace mingles laughter, tragedy, and revelatory insight in a memoir unlike any other. For anyone who's ever wondered what it's like to make history for a living, this is a must-read.

And, with the bonus 90-minute DVD containing footage of all the interviews in the book, readers can see some of the legendary tête-à-têtes for themselves. (DVD bound into book.)

Publishers Weekly

In this tepid memoir, the 60 Minutes grand inquisitor appears rather manipulative, turning on a dime from unctuous insinuation to prosecutorial grilling, always searching for the point of emotional revelation when his subject weeps, rants or flounders in self-incriminating panic. Wallace includes many transcripts of such moments from his 50-year interviewing career, but with a few exceptions-a breakdown by JFK bodyguard Clint Hill, Norman Mailer calling Eisenhower a "bit of a woman"-they feel flat on the page, couched as they are in rambling, repetitive conversational prose (readers may find the accompanying DVD of broadcast highlights-not seen by PW-somewhat livelier). Stripped of televisual aura, the transcripts also reveal the paucity of hard information Wallace uncovers; often, the interviews are more like theatrical showcases for the behind-the-scenes grunt work of journalistic fact-finding. Wallace himself seems to have learned little from it, to judge by his background commentary, which consists mainly of historical glosses interwoven with usually friendly (or adulatory) personal reminiscences of famous interviewees. Wallace does offer intriguing, if defensive, accounts of journalistic crises like CBS's censoring of a 60 Minutes interview with tobacco whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand. Otherwise, the book is a dull and not illuminating read. Agent, Bill Adler. (Nov. 1) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Mike Wallace

Mike Wallace has been coeditor of 60 Minutes, CBS's seminal newsmagazine, since its premiere in 1968. The 2004-5 season marks his 37th on the broadcast. He has won innumerable awards for his work and been inducted into the TV Hall of Fame.

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

Even in his late 80s, Mike Wallace remaisn a formidable interviewer, as evidenced by his combative exchange with Russian president Vladimir Putin on 60 Minutes in 2005. Wallace's 60 years of reporting have given him a ringside seat to history and a nearly unrivaled access to history makers. In this long-overdue memoir, the grand old man of broadcast journalists candidly shares his observations on the prime movers and pivotal events of our time. His off-camera anecdotes and insights give Between You and Me a sense of intimacy that exceeds what one would expect from this contentious professional journalist.

Publishers Weekly

Library Journal

Presidents, celebrities, con men, and social activists are the focus of this insightful and thoughtful memoir by venerable 60 Minutes journalist Wallace and collaborator Gates. Unlike Wallace's 1984 autobiography, Close Encounters, which chronicled his career to that point, this work profiles some of the subjects he has interviewed throughout the years-e.g., Eleanor Roosevelt, Malcolm X, and Frank Lloyd Wright-and in the process provides a global and historical overview of the last six decades. Chapter headings broadly describe each interviewee's occupation or activity, and actual interview excerpts are included. Wallace's personal connections to his subjects, evident when he details his longtime friendship with Nancy Reagan and his experience growing up in the same Brookline neighborhood as the Kennedys, provide context, add depth to the interviews, and create sympathetic portraits. The reader also gets a sense of how Wallace developed his confrontational interview style and how it occasionally led to disastrous results. The writing is informative, humorous, and laced with a journalist's passion for getting the story right. Recommended for public and academic libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/05.]-Regina M. Beard, Kansas State Univ. Lib., Manhattan Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The 60 Minutes warhorse, now 87, recounts his most memorable interviews. Wallace again teams up with Gates, his collaborator on the 1984 memoir Close Encounters, for this look back at an impressive 60-year career in journalism. In chapters including "Presidents," "Icons and Artists" and "First Couples," interview excerpts are interspersed with commentary from Wallace. While the writing is straightforward as it can be, the man has met enough notable people to make the book fascinating. Wallace applies a light touch when discussing chief executives, trying to find the good in irascible characters like Nixon and LBJ (Wallace recalls that LBJ once forced 60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt, his passenger, out of a car on his Texas ranch to pick up a candy wrapper and then drove off). He also gingerly handles icons like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. But in two standout chapters, "The Middle East" and "Con Men and Other Crooks," Wallace's needling style is on full display. The title, in fact, comes from the conspiratorial phrase he uttered to elicit a startling on-camera confession from Chicago crook Phil Barasch. Among the more amusing exchanges here is that between Wallace and Salvador Dal'. When Wallace asked him why he adores old age, the painter responded, "Because the little young peoples completely stupid, you know." Wallace admits that it was years before he realized "how profoundly wise" Dal' was on the subject of age. Rich material in plain packaging.