A fascinating and unflinching assessment of Tony Bourdain— the scowling, larger-than-life bon vivant we all thought we knew. Ms. Woolever uses her experiences as Bourdain’s assistant to construct an interesting portrait, as told by those closest to Bourdain.

As a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain I loved this book. This was a great oral biography of his life by the people that knew him. His story is told through his mother, his longtime producer, Anderson Cooper, his brother, his ex wives and many others. I could never get enough of Anthony and felt he was gone too soon. This memoir gave me some more insight into him and his life.

This was just what I needed to remember him by. I was given a digital copy by NetGalley and the Publisher and my opinion is my own.

Like many alums of the service industry, I idolized Anthony Bourdain and still mourn his tragic death. Laurie Woolever put together the most honest, authentic, and honorable oral history of his life. It is brilliantly written, compelling, and pulls no punches. We should all be so lucky to have a Laurie in our life.

This book was amazing!! I loved the story’s and the different layers that we get to experience. He was a fantastic person and the chance to understand him on a new level was perfect.

Anthony Bourdain was definitely a character. In his books and TV shows, one got a sense of his personality, or at least what he wanted you to think was his personality. When he passed away in 2018, he left a sense of shock to his fans around the world. What happened? How could it end like this?

For those of us that want more we now have a view from those close to him. “Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography” is a collection of reminisces collected by Laurie Woolever. Roughly in chronological order, we have Tony’s family and friends tell stories about growing up, deciding on a career, falling in love, struggling to make ends meet. And then came “Kitchen Confidential”, and everything changed.

Tony Bourdain became what he loathed: a celebrity. More books, appearances, and finally a set of TV shows that let him live his dream: travel around the world, meet fascinating people, and eat amazing food. But be careful what you wish for, because that which made him famous also became a prison, a pressure cooker (HA!) that eventually was too much for the man.

We get a wide collection of viewpoints, from intimate family members (his brother, mother, ex-wife, and even daughter) to fellow chefs / coworkers, to famous friends. Each contributes their own Tony stories, their own thoughts about the good and the bad that was this complex man. This is a wonderful collection to help remember the man, the reading is bittersweet since we all know how this tale ends.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Ecco via NetGalley. Thank you!

I loved watching Anthony, I’ve watched him for years. He had the job most of us dream about, but I wanted to know more about the man behind the camera, behind the voice and this book gives you that glimpse through his closest friends and relationships

***5 Stars***

I’ll admit it up front:

Total Anthony Bourdain fan girl and as a fan girl his suicide rocked me. I would never say that I knew the man, but there was a zest for life, for trying new things and meeting new people that came across in his various shows that made it difficult to truly digest, even now, that he is gone from this world.

So, when the opportunity to get my hands on this book came up ~ The need. The desire. The very simple and mundane curiosity we have to know someone better, even when we’ve never met that person in any way, had me taking it and while it took me time to get through it, I have to say that I enjoyed it.

Seeing him through the eyes of the various people he met, liked, loved, tolerated throughout his life gave me some understanding of who he was, while also knowing that I was still only getting bits and pieces of him. Which actually is as it should be.


~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

It must have been exceedingly hard to write this book. To have collaborated with a person so dearly loved and followed. Writing about a life we all thought we knew so intimately only to find we knew little at all. Ms Woolever is to be applauded to finish a task and give credence to the legend that was Anthony Bourdain.

Anthony Bourdain brought light, understanding, and wonder to millions of people around the world. He opened the door to places many of us never heard of and the people who lived there. He bridged cultures and generations. H was a gifted writer. He understood food and used it as international currency to open doors, communicate, generate understanding. And yet, amid so many people who loved, respected, and cared for him, he stood alone. Woolever's oral history of Bourdain, is a series of small snippets of interviews of friends, coworkers, and family, organized around the chronological chapters of his life. For me, this was a slow read as each nugget conveyed so much love, respect, loss, and pain. I often had to stop reading or reread a piece to fully appreciate the complexity of emotion. Bourdain was neither easy nor nice. He was irreverent, and frequently used obscenities like punctuation. Nonetheless, he was relentlessly creative, brutally honest, and unfailingly loyal to whoever and whatever was important to him.

A friend of mine, also an admirer of Bourdain, recently pointed out that I don't understand suicide. She is probably right. I always view it as the one sure way life will never get better. Nonetheless, I grieve that Bourdain's despair was so encompassing and painful that his voice was silenced. I miss his perspective, his observations. I grieve for him, his family, and all of us.

Absolutely terrific!! I thought I'd read all the Anthony Bourdain books out there but somehow I'd missed this one. The author interviewed over 100 friends and colleagues of Bourdain, names you will recognize, Nigella Lawson, W. Kamau Bell, etc. All offered a unique perspective on this complicated man. His best friend, Eric Riper,t is interviewed at length. At the the end of the book, we are no closer to understanding the tragedy that prompted Bourdain's suicide but we have new insights into his fascinating life.

4.5 The only way this book could’ve been better is if Zach Zamboni and Asia Argento had granted interviews, and that wasn’t going to happen, so this is probably a five.

Reading this brought me back to all of the sadness I felt upon hearing about Tony’s death. It’s always odd to feel so much emotion over the death of a celebrity, and yet I read the books, I watched the shows, and I was always struck by his wit, warmth, and intelligence. It was hard to not feel a connection.

This oral history is cut and organized by theme and sequence, and I’m sure plenty of editing occurred, but it brings raw pieces of interviews together into a seamless flow.

While I remember how sad I was when Tony died, I also remember how everyone went after his girlfriend, Asia Argento. It seemed really misogynistic, and maybe it was. Through those who knew him, though, on these pages, we really see the evolution of that relationship and bear witness to his downward spiral. That doesn’t mean that the onus of what happened was on A, but it does mean he seemed to develop a real manic energy around her. Tony was absolutely brilliant; and yet, emotionally, apparently, he was immature. And he was an addict. He had beat heroin years ago, but the mania continued with food, drink, cigarettes, tanning, work, and sometimes women. Regarding Asia he was absolutely desperate. The pressure. For years he wanted to stop being on television, leave the spotlight. But he had an awareness of all the folks on his payroll. He felt he needed to keep going for them. But then he couldn’t. What a gut-wrenching tragedy for his friends and family.

An interesting perspective and presentation of Bourdain's life through the eyes of those who knew him best! Motivational

For anyone really interested in Bourdain, the human, this is a must read. Thank you, Laurie, for humanizing a gifted storyteller.

It was so exciting to have the opportunity to read the oral biography of Anthony Bourdain in advance of publication. At the same time, I kept putting off starting the book because I wasn't sure how emotional it would make me. I wouldn't say I was ever starstruck over a celebrity, but I had an enormous amount of respect for Tony's knowledge. I was devastated when the news of his death broke. I cried, was deeply angry and I still am.
Like many others, I gained so much knowledge from his TV series. He opened up a world I would have otherwise never seen. He was talented, gifted and irreplaceable. The interviews regarding the production and the behind the scenes glimpse of that process did enlighten me. As a viewer, I had no idea of the complexity and logistical challenges of shooting his television episodes.
The beginning of the biography is disjointed quotes from those who worked with him in the early days. There are many people interviewed and quoted and thankfully a cast of characters at the beginning. Despite that, I was often left wondering who are these people remembering him or why they matter in his life. I gleaned very little from the first few chapters and almost quit reading.
The pace did improve and the picture of what his life was like became clearer. He had no close friends and his fame isolated him. A quote “You’ll never know the consequences of getting what you want until you get what you want” struck a cord with me and seemed to sum up his notoriety. My favorite chapter was by David Simon, it was full of meaningful recollections.
This book is for a reader already familiar with Tony, his books and television series. If I hadn't read some of his books and watched the series for more years than I want to reveal, the biography would not have resonated to me. He opened up a world of food, travel, culture and conversed with both ordinary people and celebrities, unlike anything ever done before. This story focuses on memories, recollections and emotions from the people on the outside of his life peeking in. There is a mix of his co-workers, publishers, family and "friends". What I gained from reading this biography is that no one really knows anyone else, where they are emotionally, psychologically or physically. We should be better friends, better humans.
If you haven't read any of his books or watched "Parts Unknown", do that first, then read this book. The biography might be easier to follow if you listen to an audiobook instead of reading  text as I did.
His influence on me was positive and life changing. I pray his daughter will someday know how important his contributions were and I hope she will never be famous like him.
It's obvious the author put passion and an enormous amount of time into the research and compilation of the biography of her longtime friend.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Laurie Woolever, Harper Collins Publications/ Ecco for the advance digital ebook of "Bourdain, the Definitive Oral Biography". These are my thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.

This book interested me because it is written by a long-time assistant to Anthony Bourdain and she had access to over 100 people in his life including family, friends, work colleagues, etc. My first impression of Tony Bourdain was reading his first book Kitchen Confidential - and he came off as charismatic and incredibly arrogant. Since then I would watch some of his shows, but would not call myself a fan. I recently watched the documentary about him "Roadrunner," and am really glad I read this book by Woolever. I felt like I got a more fully rounded view of Tony and this book (unlike the other books and films I referenced) humanized him. It was so refreshing to see the impact he had on others and a portrait emerges of a complex person. I highly recommend this book whether you are a fan or not - it is a cautionary tale of celebrity and fame and the loneliness and expectations that go along with them.

Anthony Bourdain was one of a kind and Woolever captured him perfectly in the extraordinary biography. This is a new addition to the Bourdain canon and every fan should read it!

Laurie Woolever probably knew Anthony Bourdain better than anyone. She was his longtime assistant and co-authored two books with him. So after his suicide in 2018, she collected the oral remembrances from his friends and colleagues that form this unusual biography.

Bourdain’s youth is detailed in the words of his mother, brother, first wife and childhood friends. A voracious reader, he was a gifted writer who made friends easily and entertained them with his humor. Later memories involve those of chefs, journalists, network executives and friends. I most enjoyed the recollections of Kamau Bell, host of CNN’s United Shades of America. He had always admired and wanted to meet Bourdain and when he did, was surprised by how friendly and open he was. After several more meetings, Bourdain said they should do something together and Bell answered offhandedly, “I’ve never been to Kenya.” So they went. And they watched Black Panther together. As Kamau Bell describes vividly how special this trip was to him, he also lets us see how it was very much part of Bourdain’s job.

I read so many different stories, each telling of a different Anthony Bourdain: friend, co-worker, husband, drug addict, practicer of ju-jitsu, father and more. Everyone seems to see him in a different way but I’m not sure anyone knew the real Anthony Bourdain. This is a moving biography that will make the reader miss his talent more. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ecco and Laurie Woolever for this ARC.

Bourdain by Laurie Woolever is a look into how Anthony Bourdain became the man that wrote Kitchen Confidential, who starred in A Cooks Tour and No Reservations and it's also about those people around him. From his parents, to his friends and the women he married. Laurie Woolever had an unique perspective into Tony's life. She initially helped him with a cookbook and then later became his assistant. As she says in the book, she thought she knew Tony really well, but after interviewing people for this book she realized she only knew a fraction of the person he was. She interviewed people who knew him as a kid, college student, cook, chef and later a writer (something he always wanted to be).

If you love the man you saw on TV, you will love reading this book about the man he was. Thank you Laurie Woolever for writing this book!! Man, I miss seeing him on TV!! 4⭐

Thank you to Netgalley, Ecco Books, and Laurie Woolever for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the format of this book on Bourdain. Interviews/commentaries from the people who actually knew him or worked with him. Brought a huge realism to his public persona.

I was one of the masses who was devastated when I head of his death. He seemed so engaged with life I thought. Reading this book made me realize he was a genius in so many ways yet a deeply flawed and damaged individual too.

Laurie Woolever has brought him back to life. If only for a brief time.

A beautiful and haunting portrait of a man who fed people's minds and stomachs, started a family, broke the hearts of his many associates and friends in life, and tried and tried to escape the darkness that he eventually succumbed to in the end. As a fan of the recent Bourdain documentary, Roadrunner, it was great to get an even fuller picture of this fascinating man.