The Art of the Interview : Lessons from a Master of the Craft

Rating:
Summary: A Memoir Miscast as a How-To
Review: Interviewing has been part of my professional life for nearly 15 years, so I was looking forward to reading a book by someone who's been doing it twice as long, and with far more famous interview subjects than I tend to work with.

But it wasn't too far into the book before I realized the same points were being made over and over and over, using scenarios with different famous people as examples. The book seems to be part memoir, part how-to, and doesn't really satisfy as either one. It's too repetitive and not quite in-depth enough to be a good how-to, and it's not quite personal enough to be a memoir. By the time Grobel resorted to interviewing _himself_, I felt the book had wavered so much between memoir and how-to, that the self-interview seemed not only redundant (bringing up many of the same how-to points that had been reiterated throughout the rest of the book) but self-indulgent.

The book feels padded, especially by the interviews with prominent editors and interviewers -- I feel those could have been trimmed even more than they no doubt already were. I think the material in this book could have made a compelling magazine article. As it stands, however, it's a rather lightweight book.

The parts I most enjoyed were the parts that approached memoir. I loved hearing about Grobel's personal reactions to, and opinions of, big-name celebrities. I loved hearing stories about battling recalcitrant publicists. I appreciated the bits of personal information, such as Grobel's initial desire to be a novelist. Maybe there _is_ a memoir inside Grobel. If he ever writes it, I'll read it, because the scraps of information he throws in "The Art of the Interview" are fascinating.

Rating:
Summary: When the Craft of Interviewing Becomes an Art.
Review: Over the last three decades, John Brady's classic book "The Craft of Interviewing" has become somewhat sine qua non amongst any serious practitioner of the interview profession. Sadly, a lot has changed in the world of journalism since Brady's landmark book was first released. Today students will discover a vastly different professional scenario awaiting them as they enter their journalistic careers. The business has not been kind to those who have mastered the craft of the interview. Magazines and newspapers are on a downward spiral and publishers have been forced to compromise their editorial content for advertising and sales, publicists run amok, the internet and magazine style television shows have spawned celebrity-driven puff pieces disguised as news. The age of pop journalism is upon us.

The Art of the Interview by Lawrence Grobel offers a new perspective and a first-hand account of what it's like to operate in the ever-changing world of modern interview writing. A certifiable master of the Q & A form, Grobel presents us with a no-holds-barred journey through today's world of overly-aggressive publicists, pampered celebrities, and magazine publishers who continue to marginalize the role of the classic in-depth interview.

Lawrence Grobel is best known for his interviews in (...) magazine with such reclusive subjects as Al Pacino, Patty Hearst, Robert De Niro, Governor Jesse Ventura and others. Along with Alex Haley's earliest work for Playboy, Grobel's conversations with the late Marlon Brando at the actor's island hideaway in Tetiaroa, Tahiti is still recognized as one of the literary high marks for the popular magazine.

Grobel's new book presents what appears to be a very difficult and challenging career choice for new writers, but if you dream of venturing into the world of high profile interviewing, he provides the reader with invaluable insights and riveting personal accounts of what it's like to face off with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Steve Martin, Norman Mailer, and others. Most readers will likely find the celebrity gossip here as much fun to read about, as it is to learn the craft of writing an interview. When it comes to the business of writing, Grobel is as upfront with his opinions as he expects his subjects to be, and he doesn't hold back when scrutinizing the styles and methods of Barbara Walters, Charlie Rose, Larry King, and other fellow interviewers.

The book details numerous examples of the ins and outs of dealing with publicists, editors, and difficult interview subjects. His advice is frank and easily digestible, and I believe that the information provided here would be helpful to any individual studying to become a newscaster or journalist in either the print or broadcast medium. My favorite chapters on reading this book were the interviews with editors and fellow writers. These particular chapters offer some wonderful tips for aspiring writers on the methods of research, structure, writing, and publishing interviews.

The Art of the Interview ends with a point-by-point breakdown of Lawrence Grobel's March 2001 (...)interview with the former University of Indiana Coach, Bobby Knight. This interview starts out nice enough, but Coach Knight's infamous temper soon turns its ugly head and Grobel finds himself scuffling with the interviewee over the writer's tape recorders. It's completely over-the-top and crazy, but this is what great interviews are all about. If you missed this feature during its original run, this chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

(...)

Rating:
Summary: More to interviewing than I thought.
Review: Would you believe that there's a class in interviewing people at UCLA? Well there is, and it's tought by Lawrence Grobel. What I found astounding was the amount of preparation that he goes through before interviewing someone.

After having it explained, it all makes sense. If you're going through the effort to travel to Tahiti to spend a week interviewing Marlon Brando, you're not going to get another chance to follow up with more questions later. But for the interview with Drew Barrymore he prepared 158 questions, that's right one hundred and fifty eight.

I don't plan to go interview movie stars, but I've had job interviews, and the preparation he does in advance makes it clear that these techniques will work in both directions. The person interviewing you will turn out to be interview by you instead and can't help but be impressed with your preparation and understanding.