Bourdain

The Definitive Oral Biography

By: Laurie Woolever

Narrated by: Laurie Woolever, Christopher Bourdain, José Andrés, Nigella Lawson, W. Kamau Bell, full cast

An unprecedented behind-the-scenes view into the life of Anthony Bourdain from the people who knew him best.

When Anthony Bourdain died in June 2018, fans around the globe came together to celebrate the life of an inimitable man who had dedicated his life to traveling nearly everywhere (and eating nearly everything), shedding light on the lives and stories of others. His impact was outsized and his legacy has only grown since his death.

Now, for the first time, we have been granted a look into Bourdain’s life through the stories and recollections of his closest friends and colleagues. Laurie Woolever, Bourdain’s longtime assistant and confidante, interviewed nearly a hundred of the people who shared Tony’s orbit - from members of his kitchen crews to his writing, publishing, and television partners, to his daughter and his closest friends - in order to piece together a remarkably full, vivid, and nuanced vision of Tony’s life and work.

From his childhood and teenage days, to his early years in New York, through the genesis of his game-changing memoir Kitchen Confidential to his emergence as a writing and television personality, and in the words of friends and colleagues including Eric Ripert, José Andrés, Nigella Lawson, and W. Kamau Bell, as well as family members including his brother and his late mother, we see the many sides of Tony - his motivations, his ambivalence, his vulnerability, his blind spots, and his brilliance.

Unparalleled in scope and deeply intimate in its execution, with a treasure trove of photos from Tony's life, Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography is a testament to the life of a remarkable man in the words of the people who shared his world.

Featuring the voices of Adam Epstein • Alex Getmanov • Alex Lowry • Alison Mosshart • Amy Entelis • Ben Selkow • Beth Aretsky • Bonnie McFarlane • Chris Collins • Christiane Amanpour • Christopher Bourdain • Daniel Halpern • Dave McMillan • David Choe • David Rosenthal • Diane Schutz • Eileen Opatut • Fred Morin • Helen Cho • Helen Lang • Hilary Snyder • James Graham • Jared Andrukanis • Jason Rezaian • Jeff Allen • Jeff Formosa • Jeff Zucker • Joe Coleman • Joel Rose • John Lurie • José Andrés • Josh Ferrell • Karen Rinaldi • Kimberly Witherspoon • Laurie Barnett • Laurie Woolever • Lenny Mosse • Lizzie Fox • Lolis Elie • Lydia Tenaglia • Maria Bustillos • Matt Goulding • Matt Walsh • Michael Ruhlman • Michael Steed • Mike Ruffino • Morgan Fallon • Mustafa Bhagat • Nari Kye • Natasha Phan • Nathan Thornburgh • Nick Brigden • Nigella Lawson • Panio Gianopoulos • Pat Younge • Patrick Radden Keefe • Patti Jackson • Peter Meehan • Philip Lajaunie • Rennik Soholt • Rob Stone • Robert Vuolo • Robin Standefer • Roy Choi • Sally Freeman • Sam Goldman • Sam Sifton • Sandy Zweig • Shant Petrossian • Steven Tempel • Todd Liebler • Tom Vitale • W. Kamau Bell • Web Stone • Whitney Ward • Yeganeh Rezaian • Aspen Miller • Barbara Rosenblatt • Billie Fulford-Brown • Cheryl Smith • Dan Bittner • Ewan Chung • Gabra Zackman • George Newbern • Hillary Huber • James Lurie • Jason Culp • Jean Brassard • Joe Knezevich • Oliver Wyman • Rob Shapiro • Roger Wayne

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

©2021 Laurie Woolever (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Beautiful, reflective and heartbreaking

I’ve never written a review before but this book left me so deeply reflective. I purchased this to know more about an author and personality I loved. I related to so much of his struggle as an addict myself. The story painfully resonated. It hits hard and in a sense is a reminder to slow down and ask for help. While it may have no been then authors intent I hope that those struggling with addiction or mental illness find inspiration in this book to ask for help. To know they are not alone. They are loved. Break free from the dark side and find the light that is within. You are enough. You are loved. You are worthy of love. You don’t have to “do” to be loved. Thank you to the author and those who shared their story.

Depressing Story or Cautionary Tale?

I am a big Bourdain fan. I am still mourning the death of Tony. I have yet to watch the final episode of Parts Unknown. Maybe leave this one alone as it’s a sad story in the end.

A must listen for anyone who loved Bourdain

I inhaled this work over less than 24 hours. A remarkable accounting of Bourdain's life, passions, achievements and failings. He was a great artist.

A must read/listen for any Tony Bourdain fans

What a wonderful tribute to an amazing soul. I laughed, cried, and found myself consoled by this book. Brilliantly done and a fantastic listen.

A must for Bourdain fans

“It doesn’t suck”
Anthony Bourdain

Thank you for writing this audible, and to the guests that told their story

This book is everything I could have hoped for.

I genuinely feel that this is some of the most important story telling I may have ever heard. There is a depth of wholeness that I can't remember experiencing before...I couldn't stop listening. Thank you all so very much for sharing your stories of Tony...You made him real. It was a gift to get to hear about him through the voices of those who knew him best... There was such an outflowing of unconditional love for him...Love that recognized his genius & was simultaneously capable of holding his various expressions of pain. I'm grateful to each of you for who you were to him & for your willingness to tell this story with all the wonder & complexities of who you knew & experienced him to be.

I loved hearing Tony's voice & perspective coming through on everything I ever watched or read with him...I only appreciate him even more now. Thank you...

Missing Anthony

Words cannot express what I need to say!
He is truly missed by soo many. I enjoyed watching him travel all over the world. Living vicariously through him. He is one of the real, true friends we all experienced through watching him.

Great book!

My wife and I really enjoyed, definitely informative, funny, sad, endearing, and so much more. I learned more about Tony than I ever expected.

He was a remarkable human.

I've been a fan since he came to tv. I had no idea he was so smart, charismatic and touching. Now I miss his talent even more.

Bourdain stripped down

I loved the glimpses of who he really was, I loved the frankness, I love the admiration and love his friends had for him. I respect many things about him yet he was such a mess. Thank you for sharing your insight. I recommend this book to everyone.