David Frost (1) (1939–2013)

My hope was to hear the entirety of the Frost/Nixon interviews, and since that was far outside the purview of this 4.5-hour audiobook (the interviews run something like 28 hours), I was disappointed. That's a pattern for me, for my life: disappointment because of insufficient initial info gathering.

But still, there is quite a bit here to hold one's interest. Of especial note is Nixon's parsing, in his own words, in his own voice, and at the business end of Frost's anglovox, Q&A goad, Nixon's parsing of the Watergate cover-up. Nixon is careful to note that his actions did not breach the legal line defining conspiracy to obstruct justice, but "they [= his actions:] went all the way up to that line." He claims that his intent was to simply shield his administration (and himself) from the botched robbery's fallout. (Frost concedes at the end of the audiobook that, in light of all the evidence that's surfaced in the years 1977 to 2007, he's inclined to take Nixon's assertion at face value; i.e., that Nixon didn't know about the initial break-in and that his subsequent actions were meant to simply shunt scandal fallout outward.) Nixon then makes the startling admission that in spite of not technically, criminally covering anything up, "any reasonable person would interpret my actions as constituting a cover up."

There are even a few quite moving moments. All the more remarkable given that my early and initial exposure to Nixon was actually to Jules Feiffer's Nixon caricatures (which I, a 9 year old, could reproduce to the delight of my 5-grade teacher Dawn Fowler, whom I loved) and Dan Ackroyd's SNL Richard Nixon. Thus, the Nixon of my conception is a ludicrous and ridiculous and corrupt cartoon. That's my Nixon-imago, and hearing Nixon and Frost's head-to-head kind of burst that imago and revealed to me something of Nixon the real man.

Did I mention that Frost reveals this little tidbit about Nixon's participation in these interviews? The revelation: Nixon agreed to cede Frost's team 100% editorial control for the interviews. That's one remarkably ballsy move for anyone, let alone for a man obsessed with image-control and power, Nixon. What Nixon basically does in these interviews is, to paraphrase Frost's commentary, to tear down his personality's defenses and leave himself vulnerable (at least vulnerable for Nixon) to a kind of public/personal intimacy. And this isn't to say that he's also not circuitous of speech and cagey and at times combative -- he is -- but he also here and there unbuttons his shirt and tells Frost the marksman to fire at will.

So, hat's off to the be-jowled, vampire hairdo'd, double v-sign wagging national joke, and congratulations to Richard Milhous the man, and congratulations to Frost.… (lisätietoja)

Just finished reading Billy Graham: Candid Conversations With a Public Man by David Frost.

I learned some interesting things about Reverend Billy Graham that I didn't know.

Some of the questions that are answered in the book...

Learn how and when he accepted Christ as his personal savior.
How long did it take him to ask Ruth out for the first date?
And how long before he fell in love with her?
What do the Graham Family have on Christmas morning as part of their tradition?
If the Lord hadn't chosen for him to be an evangelist what line of work would Reverend Graham have went into?
Why does God allow pain and suffering?
What temptations if any does the devil use on Billy Graham?
How would you describe Heaven?
And Hell?
Do you think there will turn out to be life on other planets?
Plus many more questions and answers.

I was amazed at some of Reverend Billy Graham's answers. A very thought provoking book. I enjoyed it tremendously.


I received an ARC of this from NetGallery in exchange for my review rather it be good or bad.… (lisätietoja)

At age 29, David Frost's interviewing ability was recognized by the programming powers-that-be in this country, and he was imported here from England to do a series of TV interviews with well-known and influential people from all walks of life. Frost has a talent for discovering the inner cores of guarded people, and that gift is well-displayed in this colloection of interview transcripts. The guests include Truman Capote, Orson Welles, Tennessee Williams, Louis Armstrong, Helen Hayes, Artur Rubinstein, Jon Voight, Johnny Carson, Ralph Nader, Ramsey Clark, Adam Clayton Powell Jesse Jackson, Barry Goldwater, James Baldwin, Carl Stokes, Dr. Spock, Raquel Welch, Claire Boothe Luce, Chet Huntley, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, Spiro Agnew, Joe McGinniss and Gerald Ford, George McGovern, Eugene McCarthy, and Adam Clayton Powell, who was by far the most irritating of the interviewees. The others, even such as Spiro Agnew, came off as remarkably human while chatting with David Frost. I'm intrigued enough to check and see if there are visuals of these interviews available to be seen. Frost comes off as a well-informed and affable interviewer, who had a gift for putting his subjects at ease (and perhaps off their guard).… (lisätietoja)

Dagney Night, a sought-after succubus, is no stranger to blazing hot sex. But as Valentine's Day approaches, she longs for something more. When oddly erotic paintings arrive for display at her art gallery, arousing everyone who views them, she wonders about the mysterious artist who created the works.

Maxwell Raines, a fire-sex demon, lives a life of solitude and seclusion behind the walls of his compound at Sleepy Hollow, channeling his lustful impulses into his art-until his muse deserts him and his temperature rises past the danger point. He needs sex. Now. When Madame Evangeline arranges a torrid Valentine's 1Night Stand for them, will the flames of their encounter be too hot to handle?

I liked Dagney. She is smart and has a cute inner voice that made me smile a couple of times. She has grown tired of meaningless sex and finds herself with the need to find someone who will make her feel again. Maxwell seems to be the answer to her prayers. I liked Maxwell too. He is a sexy bad boy who wants someone to call his own. Too bad he ends up literally burning his lovers. But his luck is about to change with Dagney. He is one of the good guys because when he thinks he might hurt her, he walks away. Thankfully he isn't able to stay away for long. He ends up hurting Dagney by going away, but that is a good thing because she feels again, just like she wanted in the first place. The love scenes between them are blistering hot. This story contains very explicit love scenes and language.

TRS for AReCafe… (lisätietoja)