All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists

This rich collection of interviews will include the gems of the Fresh Air archive. Terry Gross has included an original introduction to each entry in ALL I DID WAS ASK, providing the historical and artistic context for the conversation and introducing the subject to the reader. And while the interviews are all with famous, household names, Gross’s probing, thoughtful interview style allows for content that goes beyond the typical superficial banter exchanged on most talk shows. Terry Gross’s trademark meticulous research lets her link ideas and experience in ways that help even the most reticent guest relax and to open up for interviews that are more informative and more revelatory than those from other shows.While Terry Gross often has politicians and political journalists on her show, the book features contributors to popular culture whose stories are less ephemeral. She has edited down thousands of interviews to feature the classics, the interviews with lasting relevance and interest for readers and those interviews that transcend the radio medium, with such interviewees as Aerosmith, Conan O’Brien, Dustin Hoffman, John Updike, and Chuck Close.