Staff Pick
The story of Tony’s life told simply and honestly by those who knew him best. This book fills a small part of the gaping hole left by his passing, and is an engaging read for anyone his life has touched. Recommended By Deana R., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
An unprecedented behind-the-scenes view into the life of Anthony Bourdain from the people who knew him best
When Anthony Bourdain died in June 2018, fans around the globe came together to celebrate the life of an inimitable man who had dedicated his life to traveling nearly everywhere (and eating nearly everything), shedding light on the lives and stories of others. His impact was outsized and his legacy has only grown since his death.
Now, for the first time, we have been granted a look into Bourdain's life through the stories and recollections of his closest friends and colleagues. Laurie Woolever, Bourdain's longtime assistant and confidante, interviewed nearly a hundred of the people who shared Tony's orbit — from members of his kitchen crews to his writing, publishing, and television partners, to his daughter and his closest friends — in order to piece together a remarkably full, vivid, and nuanced vision of Tony's life and work.
From his childhood and teenage days, to his early years in New York, through the genesis of his game-changing memoir Kitchen Confidential to his emergence as a writing and television personality, and in the words of friends and colleagues including Eric Ripert, José Andrés, Nigella Lawson, and W. Kamau Bell, as well as family members including his brother and his late mother, we see the many sides of Tony — his motivations, his ambivalence, his vulnerability, his blind spots, and his brilliance.
Unparalleled in scope and deeply intimate in its execution, with a treasure trove of photos from Tony's life, Bourdain: The Oral Biography is a definitive testament to the life of a remarkable man in the words of the people who shared his world.
Review
"A chorus of candid voices creates an engaging biography." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"An unfiltered study of Bourdain's life, as seen by the people closest to him... Woolever compiles the perspectives of Bourdain's friends and family about the way [his] professional experiences impacted him, including during his tumultuous final year... Any Anthony Bourdain fan, of which there are many, will enjoy this thoughtful tribute to an impactful cultural figure." Library Journal
About the Author
Laurie Woolever is a writer and editor, and spent nearly a decade assisting Anthony Bourdain, with whom she coauthored the cookbook Appetites in 2016. She's written about food and travel for the New York Times, GQ, Food & Wine, Lucky Peach, Saveur, Dissent, Roads & Kingdoms, and others, and has worked as an editor at Art Culinaire and Wine Spectator.