All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists

Okay. Let me get this one out of my system right now. This book was en-Gross-ing.

I'm sorry. I had to say it. It hurt me to say it. But now it is over with.

Here's the real deal.

This is a very good book on many levels, yet all the levels have to do with Terry Gross' ability to interview. Many interviewers are lauded for their ability to not even be part of the interview. That is not Terry's style. There is no doubt she is allowing herself to be a part of the interview. But that leads to one of the reasons this book is so good – Terry Gross obviously enjoys her jobs and enjoys the interviews (even if she doesn't always enjoy the person being interviewed.) And that is part of why she is so successful (and this book is so successful.)

This show more is also a good book (again, because Terry knows how to perform an interview) because we learn things about these people we probably didn't know before. That is no easy task. When your interviewees include people like Johnny Cash and Michael Caine and Dustin Hoffman – people who have been interviewed to death – how do you find something fresh and new? Terry does so. (Maybe that's why they call it Fresh Air.) And, even if the person is one who hasn't been interviewed as much (maybe someone we were not even aware of), Terry gets them to share in ways that makes them real people.

And finally, this is good book for those who want to watch or learn about skilled interviewing. (One more time, it all comes to Terry's ability.) She makes it look easy. And, as you read the interviews, it may seem that this is effortless work. But take the time to go back and look at the way the interviews are crafted. (Yes, I know these are edited versions, but you can't edit in quality.) Her questions show a depth of knowledge about her subjects, as well as an unerring ability to identify the key aspects of a personality – all done in such a way that interviewees open up to her.

This is a book that should be read by anyone who wants to learn more about people, who want to learn more about human beings, and want to see finely crafted interview techniques on display. And it is a book that should be read by anyone who wants to be entertained. show less

All I Did Was Ask by Terry Gross is filled with interviews Terry Gross did with artists, usually about their latest work at the time. She interviewed painters, sculptors, musicians, writers, actors, and actresses among others. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the interviews. She didn't hold back, even including portions of the interviews where things went awry. Gross's book makes a great resource for anyone studying the way to handle being interviewed, but is also entertaining for anyone who enjoys reading artists' thoughts on how their artistic process works.

In the early 70s, when I first discovered NPR, I was fascinated by the depth and breadth of interviews and news reports. When WHYY in Philadelphia, dropped all its music programming and went to a 24-hour talk station, I was disturbed, but only because I had no idea what was coming. The news expanded and stretched both itself and my mind. Thirty some years later I am still an avid fan of NPR, and we are lucky to have a local public radio outlet with a spectacular line-up of programs (KWBU 103.3 FM).

That line up includes Fresh Air with Terry Gross. I first listened to Terry a few days after her arrival in Philly from Buffalo, I believe. A review of her show in The Philadelphia Inquirer was intriguing to say the least. I tuned in, and boy show more oh boy did she make me mad. They had some call-in segments then, and I wanted to challenge her on several issues. I did some digging (not easy in the days before computers), and consistently found no credible evidence to dispute her guests or her questions. She changed my mind on so many issues, I am ashamed to say, I had never really thought about or studied. She opened my mind on women’s rights, gay rights, religion, politics, and music. Her show became the focal point of my afternoons. I bought a tape recorder and a clock radio and devised an elaborate plan to tape the shows when I could not listen live.

On a recent visit to Philadelphia, I called her and told to her my transformation, and she invited me on my next visit to come in to the studio and witness a show. Somehow my infrequent short visits have not allowed that to happen, but I still have her number in my wallet. One of these days…

When I saw this book at Books-a-Million, I snatched it up. I skipped some of the interviews (hip-hop artists and a couple of actors I do not like), but there are some real gems: John Updike, Carol Shields, Andre Dubus, Andre Dubus III, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Conan O’Brien, Eric Clapton, Samuel L. Jackson, and James Baldwin.

Terry has a way of bringing out the deepest thoughts of her subjects. I can’t begin to count the number of times a guest has said, “Wow, that’s a great question!” or “Hmmm, I’ve never been asked that before.” The touching interview with the desperately ill Carol Shields, who died about 14 months after the interview, discusses her illness and impeding death with sensitivity and genuine affection.

Of course, my favorite is the interview with John Updike. It is truly amazing that this writer can speak as poetically and wonderfully as he writes. His discussion of the Rabbit Angstom novels was enlightening, and will drive me back for a third, or maybe it is a fourth read.

I only wish the interview with G. Gordon Liddy was included. I remember him calling her “sweetie,” which didn’t phase Terry at all, but the audience really let him have it for his chauvinistic and condescending manner.

If you have never listened to Fresh Air, you are missing out on an American treasure.
6 stars out of five. Jim, 2/18/08 show less

I don't know why others have not rated this book more highly, but I enjoyed reading these interviews--some of which I listened to at the time--very much.

Gross is an intelligent interviewer, who has researched (or read her assistants' research) her subject and doesn't back down easily. Some of her interviewees are hostile to her, some gracious...almost all are interesting.

One of my favorite interview shows. Terry Gross is an outstanding interviewer and it was fun to read some of the "behind the scenes comments" about certain interviews and some of her reactions after the fact.

Gross is an excellent interviewer and I learned a lot about the people she profiles. I was more interested in some people than others, which is to be expected from a book like this.

This book was a great chance to sit & revisit some of the interviews I've really enjoyed over the years and then there's the one with Gene Simmons. It was interesting to read the forward and acknowledgements to learn more about the staff of Fresh Air and how important they are to the program.