When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead

With an emphatic, if somewhat disconcerting, Bronx accent, Jerry Weintraub, renowned entertainment manager, producer, impresario, and storyteller, hopscotches through the memorable moments of his life--from the late 1940s though today. His engaging all-American slant on his success--the result of singularly focused determination and a healthy dose of incredible luck--proposes several business and life lessons. Weintraub's narration, with few exceptions, is somewhat flat, but, nonetheless, the listener enjoys hearing about his fascinating relationships and international adventures with VIPs and celebrities, among them George H.W. Bush, Armand Hammer, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt. The author exhibits revealing candor in discussing his personal life. An interview at the end of the production provides insights into the art of audiobook narration. W.A.G. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

April 5, 2010
Hollywood power player Weintraub, now 72, is always in control and goes to great lengths to prove it: besides having managed musical legends like Presley, Sinatra and John Denver ("I cooked him from scratch"), Weintraub once closed a deal by faking a heart attack, and won the respect of one of Chicago's most powerful men, Arthur Wirtz, when he cursed Wirtz out for making him wait (Wirtz would go on to become one of Weintraub's mentors). Weintraub's also produced plays, TV shows, movies (from Nashville to the Ocean's 11 franchise), and more, summing up his talent simply: "When I believe in something, it's going to get done." Edgy and honest but refreshingly spare in his criticism of stars, colleagues and family, Weintraub can be forgiven for glossing over speed bumps in his career (one failed business lost $30 million before it closed in the mid-'80s) and occasionally showing his age with wandering rumination. As Weintraub repeatedly states, he is not a star, which perhaps that explains the disappointing omission of photos. Still, with a bold voice, a storied career, and a cast of superstars, his memoir makes a rousing insider tour of some five decades in the entertainment industry.

April 1, 2010
Weintraub is one of those guys you probably havent heard of (unless youre a Hollywood insider), but you know his work. As a talent manager and agent, he handled Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Led Zeppelin, among many others. As a movie producer, he was instrumental in getting Robert Altmans masterpiece Nashville made, and he also produced Soderberghs Oceans 11 and its sequels. His memoir, written with coauthor Cohen, takes us all the way back to Weintraubs early days as an entrepreneurial youth; its written in a personable, anecdotal style, as though Weintraub were just chatting with us about his life. In style and structure, the book is reminiscent of Sit, Ubu, Sit (2008), by television producerand Weintraubs fellow BrooklyniteGary David Goldberg. Its not a tightly organized, chronological recounting of a mans life but, rather, a series of episodes that illuminate the life of a very interesting fella. Fascinating reading for those interested in Hollywood behind the cameras.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)