Howard Stern Comes Again

(Hardback)

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Rock stars and rap gods. Comedy legends and A-list actors. Supermodels and centerfolds. Moguls and mobsters. A president.

Over his unrivaled four-decade career in radio, Howard Stern has interviewed thousands of personalitiesdiscussing sex, relationships, money, fame, spirituality, and success with the boldest of bold-faced names. But which interviews are his favorites Its one of the questions he gets asked most frequently. Howard Stern Comes Again delivers his answer.

This book is a feast of conversation and more, as between the lines Stern offers his definitive autobiographya magnum opus of confession and personal exploration. Tracy Morgan opens up about his near-fatal car crash. Lady Gaga divulges her history with cocaine. Madonna reminisces on her relationship with Tupac Shakur. Bill Murray waxes philosophical on the purpose of life. Jerry Seinfeld offers a master class on comedy. Harvey Weinstein denies the existence of the so-called casting couch. An impressive array of creative visionaries weigh in on what Stern calls the climbthe stories of how they struggled and eventually prevailed. As he writes in the introduction, If youre having trouble finding motivation in life and youre looking for that extra kick in the ass, you will find it in these pages.

Interspersed throughout are rare selections from the Howard Stern Show archives with Donald Trump that depict his own climb: transforming from Manhattan tabloid fixture to reality TV star to president of the United States. Stern also tells of his Moby Dick-like quest to land an interview with Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the 2016 electionone of many newly written revelations from the author. He speaks with extraordinary candor about a variety of subjects, including his overwhelming insecurity early in his career, his revolutionary move from terrestrial radio to SiriusXM, and his belief in the power of psychotherapy.

As Stern insightfully notes in the introduction: The interviews collected here represent my best work and show my personal evolution. But they dont just show my evolution. Gathered together like this, they show the evolution of popular culture over the past quarter century.

Reviews

[A] hefty all-star tutorial on the art of the interview Its the intimacy Stern establishes with his subjects that makes this collection worthwhile.

Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Sterns decades in radio have unquestionably honed in him the near-mystical ability to get a guest talking freely, which is much, much harder than it looks. Even stripped of his voice a velvety purr that remains one of the great radio voices the interviews have palpable chemistry[The ones] with comedians and talk show hosts, it seems to me, are especially fine. Collectively they serve as an oral history of contemporary comedy in AmericaMore important, the book implicitly raises thorny questions about responsibility, agency and forgiveness, especially in the context of #MeToo and its fraught narratives of personal downfall and potential redemptionThese matters are ineluctably complex and subjective, and in this, at least, Howard Stern Comes Again is perfectly of its time.

Michael Lindgren, The Washington Post
[Stern] wrote lively introductions for each interview. He also composed an introduction that is detailed and charming, autobiographical but also self-reflectively honestIt is, on a number of levels, a terrific book. Only two of its interviews (one with Trump and another with Ozzy Osbourne) are from the pre-Sirius era, when his obsession with ratings combined with his self-absorption didnt lend itself to doing serious interviews. They are, as you will read, serious now. He deeply researches all of his guests and he is able to get honest emotions and genuine insights from most of them. Yes, his radio shows can still dip into tawdry territory and he remains wildly funny and provocative. His interviews sparkle.

Rick Kogan, The Chicago Tribune
What Howard Stern Comes Again underscores for those who might only view him as the prurient Pied Piper of his early career is his evolution from self-absorbed, mean-spirited attack dog to a thoughtful enquirer with genuine interest in his interview subjects. That the book is a gorgeous compendium a bit like a mini-coffee table construct is testament to Sterns seriousness about the topicEven though Howard Stern Comes Again emphasizes the guests who have sunk into Sterns studio couch, his voice is always prominent as a narrator and guide through these engrossing dives into the lives of others[R]eadingthese interviews instead of hearing them in their natural habitat elevates the process to a different level of engagement wanting to guess and hope what Stern will ask next (and this is a guy who isnt afraid to delve).

Melissa Ruggieri, Atlanta Journal Constitution
The real story isnt about how Howard Stern had changed; its about how he helpeduschange, making American culture a kinder and more soulful place by displaying the same passionate commitment to truth-telling that once burned brightly in the old Hebrew prophetsThe prophets have always lived among the people they sought to sway back toward righteousness. Comport yourself as my moral and intellectual better, and Ill either shrug my shoulders and ignore you or contemplate giving you the finger; speak to me like an equal, and Ill listen. Stern the equalizer is on display on every page of his terrific new book. The move from audio to print does nothing to rob his conversations with the mightyMadonna and Colbert, Paul McCartney and Joan Rivers, Amy Schumer and Donald Trumpof their energy and intimacy. Instead, they now read like a hopeful historical transcript, a steady stream of irrefutable grace amid an increasingly barren cultural terrain.

Liel Leibovitz, Tablet Magazine

Author Bio

In addition to revolutionizing the mediums of radio and television, Howard Stern is the author of two bestselling books, Miss America and Private Parts. The latter was turned into a hit film of the same name. He lives and works in New York City.