A review by lrmsreads
Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales

4.0

Have you ever heard the rumor that Milton Berle had a big penis? Me either, but according to Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller the rumors are true. And now, I really wish I could see Milton Berle's penis because I'm curious. This book truly is an uncensored history of the show. Shales and Miller compiled stories from almost every cast member, many of the hosts, writers, producers and executives, and even Lorne Michaels, so this book is in their own words. There were so many tasty tidbits in this book about the process of getting the show on air, good and bad hosts, good and bad cast members, and how some of our favorite characters and sketches came to be. It was like a walk down my own personal memory lane because my earliest memories of SNL were staying up late as a kid with a babysitter and watching it, then I became the babysitter watching it while I waited for the parents to come home, then I was a college age kid watching it live most weekends, and for the past decade I've been a parent too tired to stay up for the whole show most of the time so I TiVo it and watch it later. But, this show is like a friend that is with you through all the phases of your life and I love it. And I loved this insider look at it. The only person I wish had been included that probably chose not to participate was Jason Sudeikis, but other than that it was a fantastic and comprehensive book and I encourage anyone who loves the show to pick it up. This book was originally released in 2002, but was rereleased last month with new chapters bringing it current to 2014. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read it!