She Treads Softly: The Way I Heard It

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Way I Heard It

The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe
Simon & Schuster: 10/15/19
eBook review copy; 272 pages
ISBN-13: 9781982130855

The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe is a very highly recommended collection of 35 of his favorite episodes followed by his personal stories.

As Rowe explains,"Like The Rest of the Story, the mysteries in this book tell some true stories you probably don’t know, about some famous people you probably do. Your job is to figure out who or what I’m talking about before I get to the end. Inside, you’ll find thirty-five mysteries pulled from my podcast. Think of them as tiles in a mosaic. Each of these mysteries is followed by a personal recollection. Think of those as the grout that holds the tiles together. Like the flap copy says: Mystery and Memoir for the Curious Mind with a Short Attention Span."

The Way I Heard It is a wildly entertaining collection of Rowe's favorite podcast episodes combined with a memoir. His personal anecdotes, stories, and memories, or the grout, is just as entertaining and delightful as the stories. Rowe has a personable, charming, down-to-earth manner which makes reading this a pleasure. Don't let the self-deprecating humor deceive you, the stories are all compelling and enticing, while the personal recollections are humorous, interesting, and diverting, as well as imparting some wisdom along the way.

Once I started The Way I Heard It, I looked forward to reading more, saying "just-one-more-chapter" and thus it ended way-too-soon. It was a pleasure from start to finish. The writing is excellent. The Rest of the Story segments are interesting, and Rowe's stories are varied, interesting, and entertaining. This is one of the best nonfiction books of the year, especially if I base my choices on sheer pleasure while reading. All I can say is read this book. The Way I Heard It would be a great gift.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.