Truth Be Told: Off the Record about Favorite Guests, Memorable Moments, Funniest Jokes, and a Half Century of Asking Questions by Larry King

Truth Be Told: Off the Record about Favorite Guests, Memorable Moments, Funniest Jokes, and a Half Century of Asking Questions Reviews

• 
  Samir Dhond

  I got a message on my Facebook wall that “Truth Be Told,” Larry King’s book on his journey as a talk show host would be released in few days. I decided to order the book since I have admired Larry for many years. I have also spent some of my lonely evenings watching his show. Needless to say, he has an uncanny ability to get his guests to speak up. I wonder what he does but those people speak like free-wheeling cannon on his show.
  
  [image]I just finished reading the book and I am disappointed to say the least. While many things were unknown to me (I mean how would I know them?), the book appeared quite shallow. Honestly, the book came across as something printed in a hurry so that one can cash in on the hoopla that is being generated once his show ended. Now, please bear in mind that the book is not a badly written or printed piece at all. In fact, it appears quite well done but it lacks enough substance. Meat as they say!
  
  I also understand that if I Larry were to talk about each of his guests, pages would have got filled. However, many anecdotes about his guests appear extremely brief. Of course, he has talked elaborately about his interview with Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, etc. He has also talked elaborately about his interactions with the likes of Garth Brooks among singers, Donald Trump, Carlos Slim, Bill Gates from business, and Bernie Madoff from the area of crime. It was very interesting to read about an episode between Sidney Young and Mariah Carey.
  
  The aspect of the book I liked the most was that a section is devoted to Songs, another one is for Movies, then there is one for Crime and then one for politics. It was interesting to note that Larry has had interviews with people from a wide variety of fields. It was intriguing to read that he never was late for his show. It was equally surprising to know that he has lived his life by the clock. You know, the other thing that came across as I read the book is that people simply loved him. People from different fields interacted with him, made friends with him but besides that they loved him dearly. It is quite evident in the way Stevie Wonder exclaimed on his show. He said,”Larry, I am gonna miss ya! If you were a woman, I’d kiss ya.”
  
  In between his writing, he says that he had never prepared himself for the interviews. He went on sets and has shot the interviews. Larry comes across as down-to-earth in his writing. However, I must tell you that all these years as I watched him on television, I felt that he was a cynical, and a temperamental person. The book does not divulge that aspect of his personality at all.
  
  He indeed is a legendary figure on television. He talks about his interaction with Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin elaborately and a quote from him about Larry is quite apt. He says,”In US mass media, there are many talented and interesting people. But still, there is just one king there. I don’t ask why he is leaving. But, still, what do you think? We have a right to cry out: ‘Long live the King!’ When will there be another man in the world as popular as you happen to be?” That speaks quite a bit for Larry King. I was quite impressed by his chapter on “Comedy.” He talks very highly about several other comedians and talk show hosts. He talks highly about Jay leno, David Letterman, Mel Brooks, Lenny Bruce.
  
  Larry also talks about “getting and giving.” Larry says that he has got so much in life through his show and he intends to give it back through charity. He has founded the Larry King Cardiac Foundation which has raised millions of dollars. It funds lifesaving cardiac procedures for someone almost every day. That is something!
  
  It was also insightful to know how his show reached every household and made an impact to people from all strata of society. He talks about Natalie Cole (the legendary Nat King Cole’s daughter) who came on his show to tell everyone that she was alive on dialysis. He says that someone was watching this show with her niece who was dying due to complications from Childbirth. They heard about it and the girl decided to give Natalie a kidney. When the girl died, they gave one kidney to Natalie Cole who came back on the show months later to tell her story. Larry has conveyed ways in which his show has touched the lives of people.
  
  Larry also talks about his divorce and how he reunited with his wife. Having said all of that, the book while it is not an autobiography, has shades of truth spoken and written. At times, it also comes across as slightly superficial. It is fast paced. Would not drag at all! In different words, the book is too crisp and precise for the topic that Larry intends to discuss. It does not give insights into his profession. It does not give insights into many of his guests (except few).
  
  I personally feel that Larry King is and was a powerful person on Television. I am sure through his several years on Television. He has had immense exposure to the ways of people, their behaviors, their inner fears, thoughts and perspectives. All through his book, that aspect of his guests does not shine through.
  
  I was particularly drawn to lack of this aspect because I was so impressed with a comment Frank Sinatra had made in 1988 about Larry. It’s printed in the book. I am quoting it here. He had said,”Be aware, my friend, you are very rare in your line of work, never asking self-serving questions or competing with your guests in any way. And you’ll never know how much all that means to all of us who have sat opposite you.”
  
  Read “Truth Be Told” if you want to kill some time with a fast paced book. Don’t expect insights from his career at all because you aren’t going to get any.
• 
  Angela

  There are few people that I truly feel envious of, but Larry King is one of them. I particularly enjoyed the stories about his friendships with the people he interviewed. I also admire his persistence in not doing junk news. This is one I will be adding to my library.
• 
  Sandra Grauschopf

  For many years, my morning ritual was to wake up and have breakfast while watching Larry King. It was such an amazing show. I couldn't guess Larry's political leanings or personal opinions by watching his interviews. He was unfailingly polite. He had such an interesting array of guests. I was heartbroken when the show ended.
  
  This book reminded me of how much I miss watching him each day. I think our level of discourse as a country dropped the second he left the stage.
  
  The book was highly enjoyable and eye-opening. It should probably have at least a 3.5 star rating, but Goodreads doesn't allow halves. I dropped it a couple of points because of a couple of sections that were mostly just jotted thoughts on subjects like "songs" or "comedians." These were often disjointed and confusing. I wish Larry had stuck with more fleshed-out stories (which did make up the bulk of the book).
• 
  Lainy122

  When Larry King passed away at the start of the year, I put this book on hold at the library - and it only just came in this week, mid-March. Everyone else obviously had the same idea as me, and it just goes to show you what a global reach this man had.
  It was odd to read this book ten years after he wrote it, and to have the benefit of hindsight on the circumstances and predictions he made (particularly political, but also cultural). It was also strange to read his defensiveness about situations that no one can even remember now.
  I didn't agree with everything he said, everything he did or everything he believed - I probably didn't even agree with most of it. But despite what he would have told you himself, he was a very interesting person, and I found this a very interesting read.
  Not particular in depth, but I imagine that any one of his dozen other books would have that covered.
• 
  Óli Sóleyjarson

  Þegar Larry dó ákvað ég að lesa þetta í nostalgíukasti. Ég horfði nefnilega reglulega á hann á unglingsárum, um miðja nótt þegar Stöð 2 var að endurvarpa CNN utan hefðbundins útsendingartíma. En þessi bók var bara ákaflega léleg. Virðist hafa verið skrifuð til að græða á umtalinu í kringum brotthvarf hans frá CNN. Örfáar skemmtilegar sögur en mikið af bólstrun og endurtekningum.
• 
  William O. Robertson

  A good read, but sort of heavy on his view of sports, Garth Brooks and Al Pacino. I understand the sports bit a little since obviously, Larry was an active sports follower, but goodness why he inserted Garth Brooks and Al Pacino so often within the pages seem a little overboard. Nothing against Garth or Al, but it just appeared a bit odd and tiresome when he would interject their names after a couple of times.
• 
  Bob Peterson

  Interesting enough about his television career, however virtually no information about his long running radio show on the mutual broadcasting network. This is what I was most interested to find out about.
• 
  Zalila Isa

  Pengalaman ialah pengajaran terbaik walau dalam apa juga bidang. Buku ini menceritakan setiap pengalaman Larry King dengan pembahagian topik-topik tertentu (atau kata kunci) yang memudahkan fokus dalam pembacaan.
• 
  Elaine

  Very interesting & entertaining.
• 
  Julie

  I'm not really interested in celebrities; I don't read the celebrity magazines or watch any of the talk shows that celebrities frequent. I have no idea who most of the movie stars are today. And I never watched Larry King Live. But Truth Be Told by Larry King was actually quite interesting. It's a memoir by the talk show host in which he shares memories and stories of his life on radio and television. The subtitle sums up the purpose of the book: Off the Record about Favorite Guests, Memorable Moments, Funniest Jokes, and a Half Century of Asking Questions. It honestly made me want to go back and watch old episodes to see King's interviews!
  
  The memoir is split up into chapters that focus on certain topics, such as Time, Riches, Music, Politics and The Finale. King shares his memories and anecdotes from his life as a broadcaster, first in Miami on radio, and later on CNN. As with most memoirs, some chapters were more interesting than others. There's very little personal information revealed about King. We learn that he was on welfare as a child, and we hear a bit about his marriage and the pain he feels when comedians and others make fun of his marital problems. But mostly, this is a book about other celebrities and King's interactions with them.
  
  He has met some amazing people. Not just movie stars and rock stars, but politicians and important people from around the world. And his stories about them, as well as the stories they've told him, which he recounts in this memoir, are fascinating. He also shares the events that led up to the final episode of Larry King Live. He talks about the circumstances that resulted in the show's ending, and his feelings about the end of such an important part of his life.
  
  For fans of Larry King, this is a must read. For those who enjoy celebrity gossip and stories, I highly recommend it. Truth Be Told is an interesting account of life in broadcasting, and the extraordinary experience of engaging with so many celebrities, politicians and other interesting individuals.
• 
  Margo Kelly

  I've never read a book by Larry King before. I've never watched a single interview he's done on t.v. ... So why would I read his book? Simple: I was curious.
  
  It was a quick and easy read, and for much of the book I wanted to give a five star rating, but then I got to the section on politics and more than once, I thought, "Are you kidding me?" And then there was another point where he insulted Streisand for her perfectionism but joked about a time when Trump told him his breath stunk during an interview. The difference in attitudes seemed like such a sexist bias to me. I was annoyed.
  
  However, the book is a great read.
  
  And the fact that I stopped multiple times to read a section out loud to my family, tells me this is a five star book. The stories about music, celebrities, and life lessons were fascinating. And while I've never watched Larry King interview a single person, I still know who he is ... who doesn't?
  
  This book was a great snapshot of not only Larry King but also people he's met along his journey.
• 
  Beth Gordon

  2.5 stars
  
  The only things I knew about Larry King before reading this book are that he's been around awhile, he's been married a lot, he had a talk show (though I didn't know the network), he's had heart surgery, and he wears suspenders.
  
  After reading this book, I can only add a few more tidbits to my Larry King knowledge base: he has two young boys, his talk show was on CNN, and he's a name dropper. Although you might expect that the book will have namedropping based on the title, but it's done in more of the bragging way.
  
  Most of the people he talks about are in his generation or even older than that - like Sinatra, Pacino, Brando (aka people that famous and talented but I don't know much about). It was surprising that he did mention Ryan Seacrest some.
  
  All in all, it was just okay. I suppose I expected more substantial recollections than the exhaustive ones of Pacino and Sinatra, which often were personal relationships that spanned more than just an interview. The rest of the book was a "people I know" laundry list.
• 
  Lain

  The problem is, King isn't a writer. And even though he worked with a ghostwriter , this book lacks cohesion and structure. It's choppy and disjointed, particularly the first chapter.
  
  The rest of the book is entertaining for what it is - short anecdotes about many of King's guests, divided by topic. Unfortunately a lot of the references appeal to a certain demographic and are lost on younger readers. And spoken humor doesn't always translate to the page, leaving the reader scratching his head.
  
  There are a few gems about interviewing ("I never learned anything while I was talking."). But those are almost overshadowed by King's political posturing and catering to the left. For someone who claims to try to have no opinion, he is an unapologetic liberal who excuses poor behavior by friends (Kennedy clan in particular) while attacking the right.
  
  All the same, an okay read and a bit of insight into one of the most popular men of our time.
• 
  Kristi

  I love reading what reporters & interviewers have to say. They have all the inside scoop, they have their point of view of who they like & who they don't & usually there is a reason. I enjoyed this book almost as much as I enjoyed Walter Cronkite's book. I'm looking forward to the next step in Larry's life as a stand up comic & hoping to see him on his tour.
• 
  Tracy

  A lot of fun stories from throughout his career. It reminded me of an expanded version of his old USAToday column. It would have been 5 star if he would have left out his west coast take on politics. I don't need someone from LA telling me how the middle of the country thinks about politics when he couldn't be more wrong about the land between the coasts.
• 
  Rebecca

  This was a really fun read; however two warnings... People curse unfortunately so there are quotes that contain some of the big curse words. And the final chapter on comedy has some dirty bits as he shares sketches by other comedians.
  So my advice, read it, but skip the last chapter when you get to his favorite comedians, or just skip the sketchier comedians.
• 
  N.

  3.5/5 - Quick read, pretty entertaining for a deliberate name-dropping book; lots of fun anecdotes. Could have used a bit of editing because occasionally an anecdote is confusing and in the end his ego soared when he talked about his plans to become a comedian. So, not a great ending, but overall the book was a nice, light, gossipy read.
• 
  Timothy

  Larry King has been praised and criticized for his interview style. Praised in that he made his guest comfortable which allowed them to open up. Criticized for not asking tough questions. It worked in broadcasting. But this is a book. And there are times when you wanted deeper opinions. Parts were very superficial. If your looking for depth, you won't find it here.
• 
  Jose

  I don´t agree with the reviews average. I found it very entertaining of this man´s journey. King will be always known as a entertainer who put his guests and the quality of his interviews above his own ego.
• 
  Michael D

  Stories a plenty I've heard about Larry and Shawn, etc from friends and family members who know them well, but how much more illuminating and entertaining to hear the stories from Larry's own perspective :] Haha. One-of-a-kind, this one!!! Pure enjoyment.
• 
  Marilyn

  This is one of my all time favorite books. I could not put it down. It is fall on the floor funny. It is so good that I bought it, along with another one of his books called "My Remarkable Journey".
• 
  John Van Fossen

  Entertaining and quick read. Larry is a smart guy with a great memory. He raises a lot of good points in his book on a wide range of subjects while relating them to the people he has interviewed.
• 
  Delimar

  love the way Larry tells a story, and he has tons of great ones in this book...
• 
  Sue

  truth be told is that Larry King loves talking about Larry King
• 
  ABC

  Little snippets about various celebrities and political figures, nothing earth shattering.