Mike Rowe (5) (1962–)

I limited myself to reading one story per day to make this book last longer because I had a feeling it would be tremendous and I was not off the mark on that assumption! What a wonderful, easy way Mike Rowe has of telling a story and keeping you guessing and enthralled. I loved not knowing who was the subject of the short tales he shared until the very end ... some I guessed, many I did not ... all were terrific! This is a definite must read and must share book.

The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe is a very highly recommended collection of 35 of his favorite episodes followed by his personal stories.

As Rowe explains,"Like The Rest of the Story, the mysteries in this book tell some true stories you probably don’t know, about some famous people you probably do. Your job is to figure out who or what I’m talking about before I get to the end. Inside, you’ll find thirty-five mysteries pulled from my podcast. Think of them as tiles in a mosaic. Each of show more these mysteries is followed by a personal recollection. Think of those as the grout that holds the tiles together. Like the flap copy says: Mystery and Memoir for the Curious Mind with a Short Attention Span."

The Way I Heard It is a wildly entertaining collection of Rowe's favorite podcast episodes combined with a memoir. His personal anecdotes, stories, and memories, or the grout, is just as entertaining and delightful as the stories. Rowe has a personable, charming, down-to-earth manner which makes reading this a pleasure. Don't let the self-deprecating humor deceive you, the stories are all compelling and enticing, while the personal recollections are humorous, interesting, and diverting, as well as imparting some wisdom along the way.

Once I started The Way I Heard It, I looked forward to reading more, saying "just-one-more-chapter" and thus it ended way-too-soon. It was a pleasure from start to finish. The writing is excellent. The Rest of the Story segments are interesting, and Rowe's stories are varied, interesting, and entertaining. This is one of the best nonfiction books of the year, especially if I base my choices on sheer pleasure while reading. All I can say is read this book. The Way I Heard It would be a great gift.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.
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I don’t hand out 5 stars very often; usually only for books I’d keep on the shelf or ones I’d reread. Mike Rowe’s intro stories are so intriguing and his frequent suggestion to “google it” had me wanting more and I was googling things. His story telling provided enough summary to make me want to get more and the way he strings things together throughout the entire book is so well done that although it is bits and pieces of history and his own life it really does tie together in show more an extraordinary way. Bravo MIke Rowe! show less

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes an author just sees the world the same way you do. Mike Rowe sees what I see, but with more kindness. His is a heart-opening and mind-expanding perspective with lots of warm humor and humility mixed in.

I was expecting a bit of commentary interspersed with transcripts of the podcast. Maybe I'd glean some background information about how he came to write about his topics for "The Way show more I Heard It" (of which, I confess, I have not missed a single episode). There is much more meat in this book than what I expected. Mike makes other connections from history and shares fun personal anecdotes. It's just more of Mike, and he's a great guy: an American folk hero like Mr. Rogers or Garrison Keillor or his inspiration, Paul Harvey. This is delightful reading and would make a perfect holiday gift for someone who loves Mike Rowe or just loves great storytelling. show less