I loved this intimate account of Leonard Bernstein. It lifts the curtain on some of his magic--and fury--and provides a window into some of the circus-like mania that went into the genius of Bernstein. I loved that Harmon didn't hold back on eviscerating Bernstein's awful manager. This is a fun and gossipy book but also a really solid introduction to Bernstein. It somewhat reminded me of the memoir "Mornings with Mailer," written by Norman Mailer's last assistant.

I love Leonard Bernstein's music - but didn't know a lot about his life. After reading this I find I know a lot more about one particular part of his life (as expected) and can add him to the list of Difficult Male Geniuses. I still love the music, but the man behind it is... trickier.

There's a lot of inside classical music stuff here - so probably one for the classical music aficionados rather than the casual fan (I am definitely the latter!).

Fascinating insider story of a period in the life of the great Leonard Bernstein. Definitely no literary masterpiece this, indeed it is pretty turgid in places, but the story is fascinating and well worth hanging on in there. Hard to believe the author was willing to put up with Bernstein for so long. What a diva he comes across as - no surprise, I suppose, but still quite shocking that he should be so indulged by so many for so long, genius notwithstanding.
Well done the publisher for ignoring the lack of quality of the writing and getting this story out into the world.

For fans of Bernstein, or those who enjoy reading about the day to day lives of artists, this book will be a must-read. Bernstein's long-term assistant gives an irresistible backstage insight into life with the great master. Thanks NetGalley!

Leonard Bernstein's assistant Charlie Harmon has written this book about his life and the life of Leonard Bernstein. This is a behind the scenes look at the life of a star. This book mainly covers the latter years of Leonard Bernstein's life. You will read about Charlie Harmon from the moment he saw a help wanted add up until after Bernstein's death and a little after. If you like non-fiction, if you like memoirs, and if you are a fan of Leonard Bernstein this is a very interesting book.

On the Road and Off the Record with Leonard Berstein by Charlie Harmon is a wonderfully enjoyable book. Such a biography - what a life! It was quite enjoyable to get a brief glimpse into a complicate yet amazingly talented man. Passion - music - conduction - wild character, great to read. Thanks to #netgalley #ontheroadandofftherecordwithleonardbernstein #imagine

Knowing about Leonard Bernstein and his accomplishments, and having an appreciation for his body of work I decided to get this book from Net Galley.. I was glad I did. I was also glad I did not read any reviews prior to the reading of this book as it may have influenced me in some way. I will say that I thought it was impartial a reporting as possible for someone working so closely with their subject. I found the inside stories fascinating and helped shape a greater understanding of the legend. The writing was good and holds one's interest. I found the book very entertaining and informative.

"A celebratory, intimate, and detailed look at the public and private life of Leonard Bernstein written by his former assistant. Foreword by Broadway legend Harold Prince.

Leonard Bernstein reeked of cheap cologne and obviously hadn't showered, shaved, or slept in a while. Was he drunk to boot? He greeted his new assistant with "What are you drinking?" Yes, he was drunk.

Charlie Harmon was hired to manage the day-to-day parts of Bernstein's life. There was one additional responsibility: make sure Bernstein met the deadline for an opera commission. But things kept getting in the way: the centenary of Igor Stravinsky, intestinal parasites picked up in Mexico, teaching all summer in Los Angeles, a baker's dozen of young men, plus depression, exhaustion, insomnia, and cut-throat games of anagrams. Did the opera get written?

For four years, Charlie saw Bernstein every day, as his social director, gatekeeper, valet, music copyist, and itinerant orchestra librarian. He packed (and unpacked) Bernstein's umpteen pieces of luggage, got the Maestro to his concerts, kept him occupied changing planes in Zurich, Anchorage, Tokyo, or Madrid, and learned how to make small talk with mayors, ambassadors, a chancellor, a queen, and a Hollywood legend or two. How could anyone absorb all those people and places? Because there was music: late-night piano duets, or the Maestro's command to accompany an audition, or, by the way, the greatest orchestras in the world. Charlie did it, and this is what it was like, told for the first time."

For my brother!

I found this book a long procession of "...famous people I met today...". There seemed to be endless processions of them and you did begin to feel sorry for Bernstein's entourage. The sort of book few people would complete without reading other genre just for a break up the repetitiveness of the socialising with the faces of the time.

My love of biographies, particularly those of celebrities and/or musicians, led me to this book. While I've certainly heard of the name Leonard Bernstein and that he was associated with music in iconic proportions, I knew next to nothing about him. Well, he's just the guy who wrote the music to the legendary musical "West Side Story" and is a world famous conductor of orchestras. Nicknamed "Maestro", Bernstein travelled the world on a brutal schedule instructing college students, conducting orchestras, writing new scores and making recordings.

In the early 1980s Charlie Harmon answered an ad under "M" for Musician in the Sunday New York Times seeking an assistant for a "world-class" musician. The skill set required was to read music, be available to travel, speak some European languages and be very organized. Prior to Harmon's hiring, Bernstein changed personal assistants like the blur of a revolving door.

I got exhausted just reading about all Charlie Harmon had to do in his role as personal assistant to Leonard Bernstein, a role he served during the last years of Bernstein's life. Presented with Bernstein's punishing schedule of work and travel, Harmon's duties included carefully packing up 20+ trunks and boarding them on planes all over the world. Very knowledgeable in orchestra music himself, Harmon was often called upon to prepare and "mark up" sheet music to Bernstein's specifications for various orchestras.

Bernstein's main residence was the imposing and impressive Dakota building, which had just seen the recent murder of Beatle John Lennon prior to Harmon coming on board. Another celebrity neighbor often encountered in the Dakota building was actress Lauren Bacall. During his role as personal assistant to Leonard Bernstein, Harmon would find himself rubbing elbows with many celebrities.

Harmon kept a diary throughout his years working for Bernstein from which he drew upon intricate details for this book. The writing is intelligent, authentic, knowledgeable and intimate. Just to offer a few glimpses into the private world of Bernstein, while pining for his deceased wife Felicia (whose apparition others could see while Bernstein did not), Bernstein was often found waking up with a male in his bed...prompting Harmon to go back to fetch a second cup of morning coffee. Bernstein smoked too much, relied on Dexedrines for energy and refused to eat at the same table with his cook.

Although after several grueling years working for Bernstein Harmon resigned as personal assistant, he continued to work for Bernstein in other very important capacities such as his archivist and editing Bernstein's scores after his death. Indeed, when Harmon last visited Bernstein at the Dakota the day before his death, "LB" said, "Please look after my music." And he did.

A series of vignettes written by one of Leonard Bernstein's assistants, this book was an interesting look into the chaotic life of a mercurial genius. Beginning from the moment the author, Charlie Harmon, sees a job ad requesting a personal assistant and ending with Bernstein's death and legacy, this book traces the ups and downs of the latter years of the musician's life.

As someone with only passing knowledge of Bernstein and his accomplishments, this book did a good job at bringing me up to speed and giving me a peek into what life as a musical elite would be like. This isn't a thorough biography of the composer, nor a deep exploration of his music, so I wouldn't recommend this book for people looking for either of these things. Nonetheless, it is a detailed look at the late years of the man's life: his mood swings, his drug use, his love for his family, his passion for his work, how rapidly he could fluctuate between kindness and cruelty, and what a hectic schedule and life he kept and spread to the people around him. Fans of Bernstein would certainly find this book a complementary read to their knowledge of the man.

Parts of the book got too dense for me in terms of name-dropping—it got difficult keeping straight who was who and which part of the world were they currently touring around (and to be fair, I suppose this may simply be an accurate representation of what a confusing whirlwind the author's job as a personal assistant was). I also would've like more about Bernstein's work process and how he made his art.

All in all, it was an interesting memoir that would resonate strongly with Bernstein fans and music aficionados. Not the easiest read at some bits, but it adds another dimension to the man.

Honesty first: my review is probably colored but the fact that I had just read the book about the friendship between Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart which was warm and personable. This one was neither of those things. It was more gossip column and much too much about the author rather than Bernstein. It was easy to read and moved quickly but without holding my interest.

I enjoyed this bio of Leonard Bernstein by one of his late-in-life personal assistants. It wasn't really very well structured nor elegantly written; read more like a daily diary of events without any overarching themes, but because I grew up in those days when Leonard Bernstein was teaching young people how to enjoy classical music, this was a sort of trip down memory lane. Bernstein's flamboyant character kept the book interesting, his eccentricities as fascinating as his talent was immense. His under-cover (to the outside world) gay side comes through as a sub-theme to his music. This is probably a book for a fairly specialised readership; those who like to peer into the private lives of composers!

I enjoyed this inside look at the fabulously complex world of the great Leonard Bernstein, clearly a musical genius with all the baggage that apparently entails. Frustrating, hilarious, shocking, heartbreaking, it's well worth the read.

What a fascinating look into the late life of one of America's finest art music composers! This is definitely a book for adults only, with much language, drugs, and sexual content. But the intimate glimpses it gives us of "LB" as he sticks to his unbelievable schedule of teaching, conducting, writing, and premiering his own music is fascinating! Bravo, Mr. Harmon! I recommend this book for anyone pursuing a career in "classical" music today.

It was an interesting read. I didn’t know what to expect. I realized quickly it would be different than I expected.

Bernstein was an absolute genius but the reader has to separate his art from his life. I am afraid, given the current climate, that it was an uncomfortable read.

I did not finish this book. I gave up about half way through. It is not as if it was misdescribed. It is indeed a first person account of what happened while the writer was personal assistant to Leonard Bernstein.

It is quite extraordinary that someone has a memory this distinct of a period years in his past, especially since he admits halfway through that he had lost the critical datebook where he had been keeping his appointments. Bernstein's schedule was frenetic - but can, presumably, be reconstructed from the available records.

It is full of incidents which become a blur. Lots of name dropping, and revelations such as drug use (a form of "speed") and sexual misbehaviour. The author tells us a lot about himself too - and had a view high opinion of his own abilities. He ensures that he secures credit for rescuing the maestro from himself more than once.

But after a while the whole thing becomes a rather boring recitation of very similar events, all told in a monotone. There is only one colour - garishness. Everything is very expensive and of the highest possible quality. He tells us for instance that having travelled once with Bernstein in the first class section of an aircraft he never crossed an ocean any other way since. Well, bully for him.

Of course working for the maestro also involved an entire retinue. And there was competition among them for attention. So what?

I had the feeling that I was reading an overly long supermarket tablet exposé. It left a nasty taste. I am not sure I learned anything I actually wanted to know.

Music fans curious about Bernstein behind the scenes will find lovely vignettes about the Maestro's life on and off the stage. If you are looking for a complete biography of Bernstein, this book is not it - it instead focuses on the years when the author worked as assistant to Bernstein. The photos and memorabilia are interesting to look at, and make Bernstein come to life. Those who only know him through his music will enjoy learning more about him behind the baton or the composition paper.
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This insight into a musical genius and the demands made on his day to day book is told from the perspective of his personal assistant Charlie Harmon who wonderfully displays the ongoing saga of his four years employment.

Written with an engaging flair, this is one of those books that gives great insight but refrains from judging the genius. This is an interesting book and one that never before really delves into the everyday struggles and work of a man who led a very busy and work related life.

Harmon doesn’t skim through the difficult passages but in fact, displays them out for the reader to fully experience the life and the many pitfalls it has on him as the personal assistant and the Bernstein that we never really known until reading this worthwhile biography/autobiography.

This is a must read for anyone who is interested in fame and the cost it has on the person and the people working with them. Harmon lovingly refrains from passing judgement but instead provides us with facts in an engaging read. This is a must read for those interested in life in the spotlight and the demands it has on a day to day struggle. This is highly recommended.