Terry Gross started out in public radio in 1973 at WBFO, the NPR affiliate on the campus of her alma mater, the State University of New York at Buffalo. She became producer and host of Fresh Air in 1975, when it was still a local program. Fresh Air won a Peabody Award in 1994 for its "probing questions, revelatory interviews, and unusual insights." In 2003, Terry herself received public radio's highest honor, the Edward R. Murrow Award. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, the writer Francis Davis.
Fans of National Public Radio's Fresh Air with Terry Gross are in for a treat. For the first time, listeners can read transcripts from the popular talk show, chosen by the Peabody Award-winning host herself. The compilation begins with an informative introduction from Gross, who provides a behind-the-scenes look into the production of the program. She also reveals insights into her interviewing process and her continuing interest in the arts throughout her 25-year career with Fresh Air. The eclectic and sometimes confrontational interviews are edited for readability and are prefaced with background information about the guests, who range from John Updike to Johnny Cash to Jodie Foster. A fun read; for large public libraries and academic libraries with communications collections. Donna Marie Smith, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., FL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Conducting a good interview requires exhaustive research, good timing, the ability to steer the interview back on course when it meanders, a knack for close listening and thinking about the next question, flexibility and editing skills. Gross, the polite and generous host of NPR's Fresh Air, is a pro, and here she collects some of her favorite interviews with people in the arts. The result is a wide-ranging and entertaining look into the creative process. With a few exceptions, the interviews are from the show's national broadcast debut year in 1987, but they never seem dated, as many of the guests are still active or well known, and the topics are timeless. Whether she's asking Johnny Cash about the difference between a singer and a song stylist, discussing the role of class in British actor Michael Caine's life or examining the eternal intricacies of the human face with Chuck Close, Gross remains sensitive, engaged and informed. The two notable exceptions are her interviews with cable opinion-slinger Bill O'Reilly and Kiss front man Gene Simmons, whose pugnacity and sexism, respectively, unseat the usually collected host and challenge her to summon interview skills she rarely exercises. Overall, however, this is an often funny and completely fascinating anthology. Agent, Jonathan Lazear. (Sept. 8) Forecast: Magazine features and cross-promotions with NPR should give Gross's book a boost. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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