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A review by komet2020
The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters by Susan Page
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
THE RULEBREAKER: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters provides a full and apt summation of a woman who, despite the obstacles she faced in forging a career in broadcast journalism, became, by most objective measures, a reputable and successful journalist. She was the first woman to be co-host of a nationwide morning show and the first journalist to be paid a million dollar salary in 1976 (when she was briefly paired with Harry Reasoner as a co-anchor of the ABC Evening News).
I’ve always thought well of Barbara Walters from the time I used to see the TODAY Show on my parents’ TV in the early 1970s when I was a small child getting ready for school. Morning TV for me during the week (prior to 1975 when "Good Morning America" arrived, hosted by David Hartman and Nancy Dassault) was divided between “The TODAY Show” and “Captain Kangaroo.” I remember Walters along with Hugh Downs (later replaced by Frank McGee for a time) and Frank Blair giving the news. Besides, I also thought she was a nice looking woman. And yet, in reading this biography, I learned so much about Barbara Walters that I simply did not know. The more I read The Rulebreaker, the more I learned about how steep a price Walters had to pay – both professionally and in her personal life – to be the success she was in broadcast journalism.
This is a very readable book, which gave me full access into who Barbara Walters was: the striver (as was her father, who had been a booking agent, theatrical producer and founder of the famous Latin Quarter nightclub in New York who also made and lost fortunes, making Barbara's formative years at times unhappy and lonely), the pioneer journalist, the mentor for many women journalists who came after her, and regular person. Indeed, as Susan Page pointed out near the close of the book (whose chapter was aptly named "The End"), Barbara Walters "seemed unable to take comfort in the career she had, the life she lived. She had always been determined and competitive --- breaking ground demanded that --- but now she became increasingly angry and bitter. She was resentful and dismissive of some of the women who followed her, even the ones who paid her homage. Only Oprah seemed to be a worthy successor. None of the awards and accolades would be enough."
For anyone wanting to know about about this remarkable woman, I highly recommend reading The Rulebreaker.
I’ve always thought well of Barbara Walters from the time I used to see the TODAY Show on my parents’ TV in the early 1970s when I was a small child getting ready for school. Morning TV for me during the week (prior to 1975 when "Good Morning America" arrived, hosted by David Hartman and Nancy Dassault) was divided between “The TODAY Show” and “Captain Kangaroo.” I remember Walters along with Hugh Downs (later replaced by Frank McGee for a time) and Frank Blair giving the news. Besides, I also thought she was a nice looking woman. And yet, in reading this biography, I learned so much about Barbara Walters that I simply did not know. The more I read The Rulebreaker, the more I learned about how steep a price Walters had to pay – both professionally and in her personal life – to be the success she was in broadcast journalism.
This is a very readable book, which gave me full access into who Barbara Walters was: the striver (as was her father, who had been a booking agent, theatrical producer and founder of the famous Latin Quarter nightclub in New York who also made and lost fortunes, making Barbara's formative years at times unhappy and lonely), the pioneer journalist, the mentor for many women journalists who came after her, and regular person. Indeed, as Susan Page pointed out near the close of the book (whose chapter was aptly named "The End"), Barbara Walters "seemed unable to take comfort in the career she had, the life she lived. She had always been determined and competitive --- breaking ground demanded that --- but now she became increasingly angry and bitter. She was resentful and dismissive of some of the women who followed her, even the ones who paid her homage. Only Oprah seemed to be a worthy successor. None of the awards and accolades would be enough."
For anyone wanting to know about about this remarkable woman, I highly recommend reading The Rulebreaker.