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In the Weeds

Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

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In the Weeds

Written by: Tom Vitale
Narrated by: Tom Vitale
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About this listen

Anthony Bourdain's long time director and producer takes readers behind the scenes to reveal the insanity of filming television in some of the most volatile places in the world and what it was like to work with a legend.

In the nearly two years since Anthony Bourdain's death, no one else has come close to filling the void he left. His passion for and genuine curiosity about the people and cultures he visited made the world feel smaller and more connected. Despite his affable, confident, and trademark snarky TV persona, the real Tony was intensely private, deeply conflicted about his fame, and an enigma even to those close to him. Tony’s devoted crew knew him best, and no one else had a front-row seat for as long as his director and producer, Tom Vitale.

Over the course of more than a decade traveling together, Tony became a boss, a friend, a hero and, sometimes, a tormentor.In the Weeds takes readers behind the scenes to reveal not just the insanity that went into filming in some of the most far-flung and volatile parts of the world, but what Tony was like unedited and off-camera. From the outside, the job looked like an all-expenses-paid adventure to places like Borneo, Vietnam, Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Libya. What happened off-camera was far more interesting than what made it to air. The more things went wrong, the better it was for the show. Fortunately, everything fell apart constantly.
Culinary Adventures Entertainment & Celebrities Grief & Loss Personal Development Professionals & Academics Relationships Celebrity Africa Biography
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I love all things Anthony Bourdain but this book beyond exceeded all my expectations!!!! SOOOOO INTERESTING and funny and well written and performed. Tom Vitale is incredibly hard working and extremely talented. I’m soooooo glad he shared these incredible stories and memories!!!

Wow my new favorite!

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Even though I didn’t know Tony personally, his death was something that really hurt my heart. This book was a great way to remember Tony for the person he was, and the impact he made on the people around him. Thank you Tom for sharing your wonderful stories and memories and giving his audience a chance to remember and celebrate Tony.

Great way to remember Tony

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This was such an incredible behind the scenes look at one of the most prolific tv personalities of our time, and a beautiful love letter to a flawed man who was only trying to find his way in the world.

Fascinating & Heartbreaking

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Through this memoir, Tom takes us through a unique coming of age in television - a story of the misadeventures of a band of pirates told through the eyes of a former naval officer turned into an unsettling natural yet reluctant first mate. From drunkenly uncovering the diabolical schemes of Bond villains in Jamaica to a decent into bloody madness in the heart of Congo, this book is full of suprsises.

The behind the scenes view of years making of television with Tony is well told through Tom's eyes. Tom's unique voice comes through his writing in this book but it is so comfortablely familiar to anyone who also enjoys Anthony's writing, as if Tom was a long suppressed part Tony's psyche given life — Cautious, self-depricating and yet seemily hungry to live a life bathed in chaos.

I am a fan of Anthony's. His perspectives on our place in the world, on food and the time he gave to appreciate and present cultures played a role in my development and maturity as a somewhat functioning human being. I have been filled with swirl of emotions with every posthumous project that has been released or speculative article online rehashing something or other from his life. I typically shy away from these things. They've all been weird or controversial or too ready to provide their own conclusions. I bought this book out of curiosity hoping for a sincere telling of Anthony's stories. I have only just finished it and I am impressed with the perspectives offered. I am impressed by how much the writing moved me by not only Anthony's experiences but the perspectives of Tom and the crew who worked so closely with him for years. I am impressed by how careful, analytical and considerate the writing can be and yet leave things so equivocally. The book raises wonderfully ponderous questions, explores them in exquisite emotional detail and does the reader the service of leaving them there for personal contemplation.

I found more in this book than I was expecting.

For a fan of Anthony's, of his books and especially his television shows dating back to the first, this book is a welcome experience.

Wonderfully detailed, reflective and heartfelt

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I was skeptical going in, but truly enjoyed the book. The author did a tremendous job in his storytelling. As a bourdain fan (I’ve watched all his shows and read all his books) I loved hearing the behind the scenes stuff. I also lost a very close friend suddenly in a similar way in 2015 and shared a lot of the sentiments that the author did from a grief and trying to put my feelings into focus. Thanks Tom.

Worthwhile for Bourdain fans.

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