Desert Island Discs: 70 Years of Castaways - Hardcover

Magee, Sean

4.09

66 ratings by Goodreads

9780593070062: Desert Island Discs: 70 Years of Castaways

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593070062 ISBN 13: 9780593070062

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2012

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The legendary BBC radio program Desert Island Discs celebrated 70 glorious years in 2012. Since the program's deviser Roy Plomley interviewed comedian Vic Oliver in January 1942, nearly 3,000 distinguished people from all walks of life have been stranded on the mythical island, accompanied only
by eight records, one book, and a luxury. This beautifully illustrated landmark book tells the absorbing story of Britain's favorite radio program in all its rich and intriguing detail through an exclusive selection of just 100 castaways, the cr�me de la cr�me of the great and the good. Over the years each has been interviewed by one of just three further eminent successors to Plomley: Michael Parkinson, Sue Lawley, or today's presenter, Kirsty Young. Discover how Diana Mosley caused outrage by fondly remembering Hitler’s magnetic charm and disputing the scale of the Holocaust, how soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf famously chose seven of her own recordings, Roy Plomley interviewed the wrong Alistair McLean, Terry Pratchett took the Chrysler Building in New York as his luxury, while Julian Clary took a prosthetic arm and Cathy Burke her laminated surfboard of James Caan. Not simply the history of a radio program, this is a record of our lives and society over the last 70 years. It is the one book you will want to take with you (alongside the Bible and the Complete Works of Shakespeare) when cast away on your own desert island.

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About the Author:

Kirsty Young’s journalistic career began in 1989, newsreading and presenting for BBC Radio Scotland. In 2008 she became the presenter of Crimewatch on BBC1 and she has presented Desert Island Discs since 2006. Sean Magee is a distinguished publisher, editor, and author. He has worked on books with, among many others, Sir Clement Freud, Michael Mansfield QC, David Blunkett, Rolf Harris, Michael Foot, and Joan Sims.

Review:

"Fascinating... endless fun! Magee's book is the perfect present for any of the radio show's millions of fans" -- Helen Davies The Sunday Times "A gem on practically every page... plenty of surprises" Daily Mail "Magee finds that sometimes the lasting significance is in the detail... [he] has given a real snapshot of history" Telegraph "magisterial, handsome and charmingly illustrated... full of touching moments" The Spectator "a delightfully entertaining history of a British institution, and the perfect Christmas present even for the tone deaf" The Spectator

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