Royal Treatment

Legendary interviewer’s memoir sturdier than its author’s suspenders

Campus Reads
Ed Kapp
Contributor

Larry King
My Remarkable Journey
Weinstein Books

When I bought My Remarkable Journey by Larry King, I was under the impression that reading this book would help me refine my interviewing skills and thus help me along my own “remarkable journey” as a journalist. Who better to learn from than one of the world’s most adored interviewers? Unfortunately for me – and like-minded journalists who purchased this biography – King doesn’t devote too much of his book to giving advice on crafting questions or speaking with interview subjects. Instead, he focuses primarily on his own story, starting in his early years in Brooklyn, following him to the humble beginnings of his career in Miami, and watching his legendary rise at CNN. Although this book didn’t really help my interviewing skills too much, I didn’t seem to mind. He spends time telling stories of most of his eight marriages and looks candidly at his relationships with a number of celebrities like Jackie Gleason and Frank Sinatra, as well as a few former American presidents. But the book isn’t about the celebrities and presidents, it is about King. After years spent watching King interview higher-profile celebrities than himself, it was interesting to see this world-class interviewer finally given the opportunity to share his own story. Even though King’s My Remarkable Journey probably won’t revolutionize the way you go about conducting interviews, it is an enlightening look at the man behind the suspenders.