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Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments, And Assorted Hijinks (2014)

by Dick Cavett(Favorite Author)

3.63 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0805099778 (ISBN13: 9780805099775)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Henry Holt and Co.

review 1: Dick Cavett has still got it. This is a collection of columns he wrote for the New York Times, roughly from 2009 to 2012. He is an intelligent writer and I appreciate his often dry, sometimes in-your-face, humor. I especially enjoyed some of the stories of his on-air interviews with politicians and celebrities, as well as other acquaintances he made. If you love old movies, you'll really appreciate his story of meeting Stan Laurel.
review 2: Fans of Dick Cavett (1936-) will appreciate his unique and often hilarious insight in this new book of essays/monologue: "Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments, and Assorted Hijinks".Its easy to understand why "The Dick Cavett Show" was so popular and successful, with Cavett's witty sharp observational humor! He re... morecalls his years in high school (pranks), teen crush (Elizabeth Taylor), some college at Yale, and also returning to Nebraska for his high school reunion, and how sad he was to discover so many of his friends/classmates have passed on. Cavett discusses the politically incorrect remark of LBJ famously referring (and regretting) of the Viet Nam War as: "a war for Asian boys". Henry Kissinger remarked that "just about anything said of (President Richard Nixon) would be true." John and Yoko's "Woman is the Nigger of the World". Cavett was distressed over Lennon's assassination, living close to the Dakota in NYC in 1980, and spoke to a cop at the scene.Alcoholism was a topic discussed at length, particularly noted that F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemmingway, Chandler, Burton, WC Fields, sold many books indirectly promoting alcohol. His all time famous show: the disagreement between authors Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer, with Lily Tomlin's "abrupt departure from the stage." Nora Ephron was one of his favorite authors, he loved making her laugh out loud, and was turned down in a role to play himself in her screenplay "Imaginary Friends". Ephron's comments and public row with Lillian Hellman were hilarious!More current topics: 9/11, he called "closure" a nauseating buzzword. "There is no closure after great tragedies." he observed. Cavett also pondered the execution of bin Laden, wondering if bin Laden was hidden in Pakistan, and could the mission have been kept secret? He instructs readers to have these answers on his desk by Friday.I really enjoyed Cavett's funny social and cultural observations, particularly revisiting the historical events and happenings of the 1960's-1970's I had forgotten, I've enjoyed watching clips from his shows on UTube. It was rather disappointing he revealed himself only in general humor monologue, mentioning his wife's name in passing only, there was little substantial detail about his life in general. The reader will need an authorized/unathorized biography to learn more. less

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