Reviews

Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever

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elizabethsreads's review

4.0

Not a huge fan of the oral biography format but fascinated by the content and particularly by how different people experience the same events and have unique perceptions of the same person.

Incredible. One of the few celebrities that made me really, truly cry when hearing about his passing. So much was said to piece together this portrait of a complex man and what isn't said, or known, or uncovered, resonates - because even with all this detail, you still can never truly know a person's depths.

eowyns_helmet's review

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5.0

A fascinating, exhausting, frustrating, illuminating, and ultimately a mysterious read. Mysterious because it doesn't attempt to, rightly, explain why Bourdain ultimately died by suicide. It does, however, paint a dense and complex picture of a genius who was also a tremendously difficult person. Like so many, I was dismayed by news of his death. I was a fan through the writing and television productions. I did get more insight into what an exceptional person he was.

cbristol4884's review

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adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

benrogerswpg's review against another edition

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3.0

It was an okay read.

Not an amazing book, but touching at points.

Better (way better in fact) than [b:World Travel: An Irreverent Guide|50496808|World Travel An Irreverent Guide|Anthony Bourdain|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601068289l/50496808._SY75_.jpg|75469886].

3.1/5

nolamanns's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

debi_g's review

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4.0

Wow, what a collection of voices: sincere, regretful, celebratory, insightful, and more.

iris_cadaver's review

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3.0

Exhaustive to a fault. Halfway through I was tired of hearing the same exact thing from anyone who had spent a day with Bourdain or only communicated with him via email. This book would have benefitted from a much tighter edit.