viii, 612 pages, [32] pages of plates : 25 cm

After more than forty years of interviewing celebrities of all kinds, the most important woman in the history of television journalism has turned her gift for examination onto herself to reveal the forces that shaped her extraordinary life. Her father's risk-taking lifestyle gave Barbara her first taste of glamour, but Lou Walters didn't just make fortunes--he also lost them. Barbara's roller-coaster childhood played a large part in the choices she made as she grew up: the friendships, the marriages she tried to make work. Ultimately, her drive, with a decent amount of luck, got her a career in television. Barbara has spent a lifetime auditioning: for the networks, for the viewers, for the most famous people in the world, and even for her own daughter, with whom she has had a difficult relationship. This book is her final audition, as she opens up both her private and public lives.--From publisher description

Includes index

Lou, Dena, and my princess grandmother -- My childhood -- "Skinnymalinkydink" -- Sixty-three cents -- The pistachio green house -- New York, New York -- Miami at war -- "A very normal girl" -- Sarah Lawrence -- Television 101 -- Bad choices -- It gets worse -- Television 102 and a strange marriage proposal -- Passage to India -- A funeral and a wedding -- Thirteen weeks to thirteen years -- Becoming Barbara Walters -- Garland, Capote, Rose Kennedy, and Princess Grace -- Born in my heart -- Dean Rusk, Golda Meir, Henry Kissinger, and Prince Philip -- Sad times in Florida -- Winning Nixon, losing Sinatra -- Exit Hugh, enter McGee -- Marriage on the rocks -- Historic journey : China with Nixon -- A dead marriage and the Dead Sea -- Resignation in Washington. Victory in New York -- Fun and games in Washington -- Special men in my life -- Egypt, Israel, and ¡Hola, Castro! -- The million-dollar baby -- "Don't let the bastards get you down" -- Thank heaven! The Specials -- Finally, Fidel -- The historic interview : Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin -- Exit Harry, enter Hugh -- Heartbreak and a new beginning -- The hardest chapter to write -- 9/11 and nothing else matters -- Presidents and first ladies : forty years inside the White House -- Heads of state : the good, the bad, and the mad -- Adventures with the most mysterious men -- Murderers -- Uncommon criminals -- Over again, never again -- Celebrities who affected my life -- Monica -- The View -- Exit-- To be continued ..