Off Camera: Private Thoughts Made Public

Koppel, Ted

ISBN 10: 0375416404 ISBN 13: 9780375416408

Publisher: Random House Audio, 2000

Synopsis

Read by Ted Koppel
5 Cds / 5 hours

Here, closely observed with an insider's eye, are all the significant matters of 1999--from the Clinton impeachment and the war in Kosovo to the transformation of the global economy, and even the phenomenon of Viagra.  Here, too, are the people (both on and off camera) who made the news--from Slobodan Milosevic to Hillary Rodham Clinton to Michael Jordan to John F. Kennedy Jr.

But Koppel doesn't stop there: he uses these personalities and events as jumping-off points for other discussions.  Memory takes him back to England where he lived until he was 13, to family and friends, and to memorable moments in his career of almost 40 years.  He discusses racial intolerance and brutality towards homosexuals.  And he examines such cultural phenomena as misleading advertising in Sunday supplements and the price paid for one of Mark McGwire's home-run balls.

Here is the voice we know from Nightline--intelligent, curious, opinionated, witty--reminding us in entertaining and thought-provoking ways that even the most public events reverberate in our private lives.

About this title

Review:

The title of Ted Koppel's memoir, Off Camera: Private Thoughts Made Public, promises opinions that its author wouldn't deliver on camera, where he's been the anchor of ABC's popular Nightline program since 1980. And, indeed, he's blistering at times in this book, which is essentially a daily journal from 1999. That year began between President Clinton's impeachment by the House of Representatives and his trial in the Senate. Here's Koppel delivering his prognosis of the situation: "Whichever way it goes, it will leave a nasty aftertaste. The President and First Lady will speak piously of national reconciliation, while their loyalists ram the rockets' red glare up the tailpipes of the right-wing fanatics, who have confused low morals with high crimes." Koppel's comments are not always so interesting, but he's reliably candid. He mentions that Jordan's late King Hussein "had his share of adulterous relationships," that Dan Quayle "is not stupid. He is also likable. But you would feel uncomfortable serving under him in a platoon," and that Henry Hyde once informed him privately that "he was incontinent following his prostate surgery."

There's no particular theme to the book; these pages simply collect the thoughts of an important newsman during the course of a year (whose noteworthy events included not just the Clinton trial but also NATO's war with Serbia). Sometimes they're pompous: "I'm off for a meeting with Bill Bradley. It's at his request, which is a clear signal that he's running for the presidency." Sometimes they're funny: "Let's combine all the awards ceremonies for the communications and entertainment industries and name that one event after the single piece of equipment used by all of us--the microphone. I suggest calling the occasion 'the Phonies.'" Koppel is occasionally offbeat, as when he compares George W. Bush to Vanna White, and often informative, as when he's recommending books like Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden or Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (which he once gave as a gift to Clinton). Off Camera is an eclectic package of thoughts and diversions that will by turns intrigue, frustrate, and entertain readers. --John J. Miller

About the Author:

Ted Koppel has been the anchor of Nightline on ABC-TV since March 1980.  He has won every major broadcasting award, including 32 Emmys, 6 Peabodys, 9 Overseas Press Club awards, 2 George Polk awards, and 2 Sigma Delta Chi awards.  Before Nightline he was a foreign, domestic, and war correspondant and bureau chief for ABC, and its chief diplomatic correspondant.  He is the co-author with Marvin Kalb on In the National Interest.  He lives in Maryland.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Audio
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0375416404
• ISBN 13: 9780375416408
• Binding: Audio CD