Hats Off to the Incredible Barbara Walters
In the Prologue of this fascinating memoir, Barbara Walters explains that one of her motivations for writing about her life was that young people starting out in television sometimes said to her: "I want to be you." Barbara's stock reply was: "Then you have to take the whole package."

In Audition, Barbara brilliantly reveals her "whole package," including the love mixed with resentment she felt toward her mentally challenged sister Jackie, her "rags to riches" childhood inspired by her brilliant and mercurial impresario of a father, her frustrated and conflicted mother, her amazing career in television, the adoption of her beloved daughter Jackie whose teen years were tumultuous, and yes, her three marriages and many more affairs.

I have always liked Barbara's blunt approach: getting personal with the hundreds of ordinary (and often infamous) people, politicians, and show-biz celebrities she interviewed. I had fantasized a career in television during its infancy in the 1950s, but like so many other women of my era, thought my gender (among other things) would make it impossible. So I chose to read Audition, to help me learn what I had missed. I applaud Barbara Walters for her achievements and for having the chutzpah to tell her readers more than just the glamorous parts of her life story. My only complaint is that each time Walters mentioned an interview she'd done with world leaders, I wanted to see it again. (At the end of her book, I did note that some of her interviews are being broadcast on Sirius radio, so they are still available.)

In a recent interview, Oprah Winfrey asked Walters: "What does being "Barbara Walters" mean?" Walters' answer illustrates what I thought was special about her memoir--her ability to get personal and tell the truth without mincing words:

"I'm not sure. I realize how blessed I have been but sometimes I still feel inadequate. I don't cook. I can't drive. Most of the time, when I look back on what I've done, I think: Did I do that? Why didn't I enjoy it more? Was I working too hard to see?"

Oprah's eyes teared up at this. She and every other hard-working woman of this era know all that they've had to give up in order to achieve.

The overall lesson from Barbara Walter's fine book: be conscious of the price you'll pay for success in any arena, including motherhood--and if this is still what you want, go for it.

by Donna Van Straten Remmert
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Very revealing!
Audition: A Memoir
A very revealing life story of a celebrity!
Once into the book, it was hard to put down as I learned more and more about her life. Her success now once again shows how you can do anything you put your mind and efforts to.

Parts Are Interesting....Poor Jackie
I have been reading this book slowly over the past 2 weeks. Not because I read slowly, but because the book is pretty boring. I am now stuck in the middle of it questioning if I should continue. I find myself skimming pages to see if she is still talking about the same topic I just bored myself with for the past 10 minutes. Did I really need to read an entire chapter on the "Shah" and his tent party?? Did she need to write an entire chapter on her trip to China with Nixon?? I guess this was exciting for her but in my opinion it was not necessary to set aside a whole chapter for this. I am really bored with this book except for the stories of her personal family. When she finally comes into adulthood, Ms. Walters seems to come across as a self indulgent, self-centered person. She let 2 of her marriages collapse so far from what I read, and her daughter is being raised by two woman who are not related to her. I hope all of her dinners, parties and get togethers have made her happy because her family apparently was not enough. For example, she writes that she would be working all week, traveling all over the place and then choose to go to Connecticut for a weekend with just her husband (no kids), instead of spending it with her husband and child. I did not hear of one family vacation or fun outing as a family and I am half way through the book. I feel bad for her daughter who missed out on a lot. I hope her nannies fulfilled her as a child, because it is apparent that her real mother, Ms. Walters did not.

Audition
I've read two-thirds of Audition, and did a 180 degree turn in my opinion of Ms. Walters. Her life as a young girl echoes much of mine, with the exception of the financial security. Perhaps it was the time of "children are to be seen, not heard," that made her into a strong and sincere person dealing with her contacts. It was a time when we all had more empathy toward one another, and the "really big show people" having come from the bottom, were "really" big! Great life story! I'd recommend it any day.

A Long Book, But Very Worth the Read
I loved Ms. Walters' book. It was fun to learn the details of her young life and see how she developed into the journalist and TV personality she is today. The nice surprise is how exciting it was to experience again the important historical times she documented so well as she covered many really important stories over the years. We get to read behind the scenes happenings. For instance, years ago we saw her interview with Fidel Castro, but in the book there is so much more on the subject. Same thing about the talks leading to the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, etc.
Ms. Walters was so careful to thank everyone who helped her in her personal and professional life--she seems like an extremely nice woman. I found myself cheering for all her successes, although she didn't shy away from admitting failures. I think the book is well-written and it was something I was happy to get back to in all my free moments until I finished it.