Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live

Rating:
Summary: Stayed up all night reading it
Review: This is a terrific oral history of the show. Gives you a sense of how it got off the ground, the insane competition for performers and writers to get sketches into the show, and gossipy stuff like politics, obnoxious hosts, and drug use. Reflections on the deaths of Belushi, Gilda, Farley, and Hartman are tremendously moving. I started this book at about 9:00 p.m., did not put it down until 6:30 a.m. the next morning.

Rating:
Summary: One of my all time favorite books
Review: I just finished reading this book for the second time. I LOVE it. I wish they would write a second volume with more of the same kind of information. If you like Saturday Night Live check it out.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing history lesson
Review: Live from New York is an excellent history lesson in television culture. This book shows every five years of SNL and the obstacles cast members faced while working on the legendary Saturday Night Live.
It goes behind the characters we all admire and we find out their deep dark secrets like Gilda Radner's eating problem or the conflicts leading up to Lorne Michaels quitting.
It also has a in depth, touching view by the surviving cast members who tell their side of the story after Belushi, Radner, Hartman, and Farley's deaths.
If you love SNL or biographies of your favorite celebrities then this book is for you. You wild and Crazy Guys!

Rating:
Summary: SNL behind the scenes
Review: A well crafted behind the scenes commentary by several cast members, producers and writers and hosts. The backbiting politics is probably the best info derived from this book. Interesting how Eddie Murphy decided not to get involved here. Its a shame that he's turned his back on SNL even, apparently, if he had a falling out with Lorne Michaels.
This is a great read.

Rating:
Summary: Hey, like, it's a neat book, but, you know . . .
Review: SNL is an absolute classic! Ground-breaking comedy, innovative, at times quite outreageous - it's all that. And more. This book brings us stories from SNL and stories about SNL's cast, writers and management "straight from the horse's mouth".

It's a fun read. BUT - the book would have been, like, so much less, you know, annoying, if - like - the authors had actually applied themselves to, like, editing the utterings and mutterings of the people interviewed for the book at least, like, a little bit. You know?

Reading page after page of what appear to be verbatim transcriptions of interview segments started getting old *really* quickly. And then it was just very off-putting. Especially for non-California, non-US readers. Hey, like, wow!