Letterman

As is the case with many good nonfiction audiobooks, Michael Goldstrom's narration of LETTERMAN is straightforward and well paced--engaging listeners but keeping the focus on the subject matter. Goldstrom deftly guides us through this detailed account of Letterman's career as well as the professional paths of the writers, producers, and other collaborators who helped make his shows so successful. Letterman's ironic detachment is frequently cited as the keystone of his comedy, and Goldstrom channels this with hints of sarcasm throughout. When quoting various "Late Night" and "Late Show" bits from the past three decades, Goldstrom adds enough flourish that listeners can visualize Letterman himself delivering the material. By the end of this audiobook, listeners will also be intimately familiar with the evolution of late-night comedy since the 1960s. A.T.N. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

March 13, 2017
Zinoman, the comedy critic for the New York Times, expertly toggles between keen analysis and dogged reporting in escorting readers down David Letterman’s lengthy path to greatness. Letterman’s retirement in 2015 devastated the comedy world. Jimmy Kimmel called the late-night talk show host “my Jesus” and Jon Stewart deemed him “an epiphany.” The author breaks down the counterculture humor that made the landmark Late Night with David Letterman special, and he examines how success corroded the rapport between the neurotic star and his collaborators, including Merrill Markoe, his creative muse and longtime (and long-suffering) girlfriend. Comedy aficionados will savor the numerous behind-the-scene stories and tales of how Letterman evolved from an acquired taste to a mainstream star. After he became CBS’s face of late-night TV in 1993, Letterman spent less time skewering talk-show conventions and became broad and splashy. But Letterman also showed more of himself, using his show to vent his confusion over the 9/11 terrorist attacks, confess his adultery, and embrace fatherhood. Zinoman’s ambitious work succeeds in capturing Letterman’s cultural impact while unearthing the human being behind the frequently inscrutable television icon.

April 1, 2017

New York Times comedy critic Zinoman (Shock Value) dissects comedian David Letterman and his legendary television run, taking readers from Letterman's Muncie, IN, college radio days through his seminal work at NBC to his star-studded retirement show decades later on CBS. Here Letterman is presented as an iconoclast who grew from mocking talk show cliches to representing the format as an elder statesman. Along the way we meet the writers and cast members who shaped the show, explore the origins of signature Letterman segments (the Top Ten List, Stupid Pet Tricks, etc.), and meet the man behind it all. While recognizing Letterman's groundbreaking work, Zinoman avoids hero worship. Letterman is on full display, directly quoted, flaws and all. Scholars of TV history will also appreciate how Letterman drew from predecessors such as Jack Paar and Steven Allen, and later influenced Jon Stewart and others. Behind-the-scenes drama provides an additional draw for those who remember the jockeying between Letterman and Jay Leno for Tonight Show host Johnny Carson's seat. VERDICT Top-notch research bolstered by one-on-one interviews make this a must-read for Letterman fans.--Terry Bosky, Madison, WI

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2017
The tale of a tormented TV star and his legacy.This is a critical biography, not in the sense of being negative (although there are parts that Letterman won't like, since he doesn't seem to like much), but as a work of criticism that focuses on the inner workings of a TV career rather than any life away from show business. "Years before the term 'Generation X' moved into circulation, David Letterman made ironic detachment seem like the most sensible way to approach the world," writes New York Times comedy critic Zinoman (Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror, 2011) in this sharp, revealing biography. Such an attitude would establish him as a generational spokesman during an era of political apathy. Yet Letterman was more obsessed than detached, a "spectacularly committed hypochondriac," a self-lacerating critic of his own show, and a performer who had to be pushed out of his comfort zone for his paradigm-shifting innovations. Though he played his eccentricities and insecurities for laughs, they were no laughing matter for the staff that was crucial in the development of his comedic dynamic, the writers who so often found themselves isolated (or occasionally berated) by the boss they were trying so desperately to please. The most significant of these collaborators was Merrill Markoe, his partner and foil from his early stint on daytime TV, who, "as much as anyone...helped invent the aesthetic of David Letterman." Most of the rest were men, frequently from Harvard, and the boys' club atmosphere became more of a problem as Letterman's sexual relations with female interns became public. Zinoman's analysis is often refreshingly counterintuitive: Letterman was a good interviewer. He recast and renewed himself during the writers' strike. He didn't fail as Oscar host. He was even more miserable as the winner of the late-night ratings war than he had been as the underdog. This incisive, illuminating book shows the personal toll that success took on all responsible, the price paid for laughs.

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February 15, 2017
This new biography of David Letterman is based on interviews with numerous people, including Letterman himself. It tracks the talk-show host's life and career from its early days to the end of his long-running CBS program. Letterman, a born laugh-maker, got his professional start in Indiana, on a university radio station. He was supposed to give listeners information about the music being played, but it wasn't long before he was making up fake storiesa key element in Letterman's comic portfolio, and one that would repeatedly get him in trouble with employers. Zinoman, a New York Times writer and critic, presents Letterman as a driven, extremely talented, and highly idiosyncratic man; he takes a respectful approach (the author admits up front he's a huge fan), but the book never crosses the line into hagiography. We see all sides of Letterman, including the dark sides. Well researched, incorporating a nice mixture of interviewswith Jay Leno, Merrill Markoe, Chris Elliott, and Martin Short, among many othersand previously published material, the book is the Letterman biography fans have been waiting for.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)