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

Terry Gross has that rare gift in an interviewer - an ability to be probing and thoughtful at the same time. She blends curiosity with compassion, and is able to confront without being in the least bit offensive. She is truly my favourite interviewer in any medium. I was not sure whether the tone and feel of her show would transfer well into print, but this collection of interviews (which I hope is just the beginning in a series, since she has done so many fine interviews over the years) highlights both the quality of the guests that she is able to get on, and the unique perspectives she is able to draw out of them, time and time again. There is a mix of the salacious (Gene Simmons - what a jerk) and those who are salubrious and uplifting (John Updike, Chris Rock and others) by their humanity. Terry's interviews usually evoke in me a feeling of being a dinner guest listening in, and although we miss some of the inflection, the spirit is here in spades.

It's fascinating to listen to interviews on the radio, and Fresh Air is among the very best. But how often I've asked myself, now what did he say right there. But the fleeting moment had passed, and even by asking I've missed the next things that was said. Thank God for the printed word that lasts forever and sits on the shelf to be reviewed as needed. ==Here are some three dozen transcripts of interviews. Some of which you undoubtedly missed. Some of which are artfully edited from multiple broadcasts. The editing though was carefully done to not change the tone of the interview, nor does it appear that Ms. Gross has taken the opportunity to make herself look better. ==As you would expect, some of the interviews are more interesting to me than others. You may of course, not find the same ones of interest. But if you like the show, you will like the book, basically a transcript of the interviews

Terry Gross first began interviewing celebrities in the arts world on National Public Radio station WHYY in Philadelphia in 1975. As the queen of research and often surprising personal questions, Gross interviews her guests with a candor and appreciation of their art that surpasses that of most hosts. She has hosted the hit NPR interview show "Fresh Air" for nearly 30 years. Her stock in trade is to mine surprising insights from her guests. Often, the more well known the artist is, the more gracious he or she is in an interview. Gross is very sensitive to their feelings and asks them if there are subjects that are off-limits. Sometimes, however, a guest will push her buttons and she takes her gloves off. She includes a couple of interviews where the guest is so totally obnoxious that the verbal blows begin to fall. But these instances are rare indeed, and regular listeners to her show usually are entertained and charmed by the genuine camaraderie that prevails. The broadcasts range from 1988 through 2004, with such notables as Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Dustin Hoffman, Jodie Foster and John Updike, to the late Divine, Mario Puzo, Johnny Cash, and James Baldwin. Gross opens each excerpt from the selected interviews in the book --- there are 39 in all --- with personal remarks about the occasion. She has grouped some interviews together, such as the various people involved in the making of the movie Taxi Driver. Nick Cage describes eating a cockroach live in an early vampire movie called Vampire's Kiss, and then discusses his views on death and dying. Dustin Hoffman turns out to be a charming and introspective guest as he talks about his first splash into stardom with The Graduate, his childhood, and the rather surprising best advice he ever received from Mike Nichols, which he says is what has kept him on the marquee since that movie. Jodie Foster discusses her TV appearance at age three in a Coppertone commercial. She went on to play the controversial role of a child prostitute in Taxi Driver and talks about the repercussions of the John Hinckley attempt to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, since he was supposedly obsessed with that movie. Dennis Hopper's interview is characteristically off the wall, but we learn some surprising insights into his early life. Can any of us who are familiar with his work imagine him rising at dawn on a Kansas farm to milk cows before going off to school? Gross's unique ability to draw celebrities out has made her one of the broadcast media's most admired interviewers. ALL I DID WAS ASK is a colorful and interesting look behind the scenes at one of the longest running interview shows on radio. --- Reviewed by Roz Shea

ALL I DID WAS ASK is one of those satisfying books that tells you "everything you wanted to ask about these people, but didn't know what to ask" I've heard it said that intelligence shows itself better in questions than in answers. It is also a rare quality to hear questions that are immediately so obvious and so much what you would like to know, but would have never thought to ask on your own. Terry Gross has both these qualities in spades, It's no accident that she has been on the air for so long; it's because she asks the questions that we all wish we were thoughtful and intelligent enough to come up with. Get this book to satisfy your curiosity about these people and them emulate Terry in the questions you ask and you, too, will find yourself demonstrating your intelligence.

I listen to Fresh Air as much as I can, and I completely disagree with the other reviewer. I believe Terry Gross is the best interviewer out there--she is brash, smart, articulate, interesting, well-read and well-informed, and obviously has both a great heart and also loves even the guests she may not agree with. In her book--all of that comes through. You can learn so much from listening to Terry's show, or from reading this unexpectedly fresh, original and insightful book. And I also loved her subjects!