In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain by Tom Vitale

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Web ID: 13391211
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.
  • Product Features

    • Author - Tom Vitale
    • Publisher - Hachette Books
    • Publication date - 09-28-2021
    • Page count - 304
    • Hardcover
    • Adult
    • Cookbooks
    • Product dimensions - 6.1 W x 8.7 H x 1.2 D
    • ISBN-13 - 9780306924095
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5 reviews
Michelle M.
4 years ago
from Ontario, Canada

An exhilarating page turner

I’d always considered Anthony Bourdain a brilliant, larger than life, if somewhat mercurial, personality, and was shocked to hear of his suicide in June 2018. Tom Vitale, Bourdain’s longtime director and producer, traveled with him on a near non-stop run of 80 trips – roughly five trips a year – to almost every corner of the globe, constantly meeting strangers, often through the context of their food and culture, in the process making over 100 episodes of television. Vitale is a masterful travel writer and his richly detailed observations of people and faraway locales with the emphasis on his behind-the-scenes work with Bourdain make “In the Weeds” an exhilarating page turner.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

A-Big-Fan
4 years ago
from Boston, Ma.

Hoping the best for Tom!

Absolutely loved this book! It transported me to the destination and it really gave me a better understanding of the extream effort that went into making the show! It was an emotional roller-coaster for Tom and I could really feel his struggles. I watched everything Anthony Bourdain did! I never watched another episode after hearing of his suicide. I was truly upset and couldn't bring myself to continue the show, knowing he was dead! Tom helped bring me some kind of closure! I hope Tom is doing well and I wish him the best in his personal and future endeavors!

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MadRooster
4 years ago
from Florida

Loved it!

This was gifted to me by a friend who had recently started it as well. I normally shy away from books written by the friends of the deceased, but this was truly a wonderful read. The way the stories were woven together offered an authentic journey. It had light hearted, funny moments, as well as pretty horrific ones. On the travel side, it painted some great vibrant pictures. I enjoyed watching the episodes mentioned in the book as I read, as well. Definitely recommend it.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

Justjessrenee
4 years ago
from New York, NY

A real look behind the scenes

TW from the author: INCIDENTS INCLUDED IN THIS book are not intended to glamorize or endorse acts of cannibalism, drug use, smuggling, torture, extortion, bribery, wire fraud, attempted vehicular manslaughter, or the poaching of endangered species. Obvi TW: suicide One of the strongest first pages I’ve possibly ever read in a book. This book is full of tales highlighting the diabolical chaos that occurred behind the scenes while filming Tony’s shows. It’s a glimpse into the minds and mayhem that surrounded Anthony Bourdain. Any fan will enjoy this as a different perspective—truly behind the scenes and immersive—and I look forward to watching back some of the shows this focused on to see how everything plays out again with this extra knowledge. While it is a fascinating look into Bourdain’s world it also feels very...invasive. Not to say we shouldn’t talk about the dark sides of someone after they pass, especially from someone who was pretty forward with their feelings and emotions but this takes it to an exploitive of level with personal details, and I found it uncomfortable at times yet I couldn’t put this down.

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Cauliflower55
4 years ago
from Amherst, NH

Adventure and Emotional Reflection

I genuinely enjoyed this book in the same way that I enjoy watching hours of talk show interviews with a favorite celebrity. It's fun, sometimes bland and repetitive, but oddly addicting. Tom Vitale's insights and behind the scenes "shock factor" of making Anthony Bourdain TV felt like a tell-all with a heavy dose of personal reflection and hunt for resolution. The narrative and general structure of the book seemed to jump from one anecdote to the next as if it was a television show. A format that I don't believe worked as well when pen was put to paper. Nevertheless, I appreciated the story and how this memoir seemed to serve as therapy, a mode of putting everything on the table. It was fascinating to know how themes of othering and tracking who the beneficiary of tourism really is in these destinations was consistently in the minds of those filming. I enjoyed the story and it's play on the control we can create in telling others' stories as well as our own.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com