Between You and Me

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.