Rating: 
Summary: A fun read, but heavy on the gossip
Review: 560 pages of new interviews with the living cast members, past and present, from the show (no old material from the dead), as well as Lorne Michaels and writers. It's a fairly interesting bit of reading, going from the show's origins in '75 to the 2002 season, and getting views from everyone except Eddie Murphy, who will not talk about the show ever for some reason. There's a lot of gossip, anecdotes about the crazy all-night sessions, backstage sex, backstabbing, and so forth. And plenty of tributes to, and aspersions of, Lorne, the literal father figure to so many of them. The gossip and dirt does get a bit repetitive at times, and a few more insights as to the actual production of the show might have been a welcome relief. A single sentence on Lorne switching the order of sketches and cutting them, for example, whets the appateite for more of how this process works. So this book is more a long puff piece than an investigation of any kind of practical information. Still, as puff piece, it's quite readable, and amusing at times. It's interesting to note three constants throughout the show's history: Lorne lording it over everyone, Chevy Chase being an ass, and everyone hating Harry Shearer. It did occur to me while reading this that a true look at the dirt behind the scenes would involve interviews with the make-up people, prop masters, and stage hands --- all people close to actors and totally under their radar. If they were kept anonymous, what sordid stories could they tell?
Rating:
Summary: good 'bathroom' book
Review: 600+ pages of snippets from cast and writers. You can just flip through it and read bits here and there -- hence the 'bathroom' suggestion.
It's pretty interesting, but nothing really earth-shattering for any long-time watcher of the show.
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: OH MY GOD!
Review: After reading this book I now know that Saturday Night Live is mankind's most important achievement, at least according to many of the people interviewed for this book. Here are some typical lines from the book, "We reinvented comedy, the way the Beatles reinvented Rock", or, "We were the Beatles of comedy."
I was in High School when SNL debuted. I remember thinking that an American network is finally doing a Monty Python type show. In fact some of the writers take credit for stuff that Monty Python had done long before. I'm sure the success of Python was the impetus for doing SNL.
There have been great moments on SNL, but for every great moment there are at least 3, "why is this on TV" moments. And for every Eddie Murphy and Bill Murray there are 3 former cast members handing out carts at Wal-Mart. Sure a lot of well know celebrities (even ex presidents) have made appearances. This just shows how desperate people can get for self promotion.
Not all the SNL people are full of themselves; in fact the most talented ones seem the most down to earth. The most arrogant ones seem to be the ones that have had the least success outside of the show.
I strongly recommend this book for any Psychology student doing a term paper on Narcissism
The book is actually quite good at least 4 stars. I liked the rather unique format of letting the people involved tell the story, each from a different perspective. I only gave it one star because if you read it, you will loose any admiration you have for the withering remains of a show you once thought was cool.
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: Zweibel's phraseology threw my back out
Review: My favorite bit of commentary is from the shlub named after a German onion.ALAN ZWEIBEL: "It's like when I was doing Garry Shandling's first series, we wanted to have Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop on. I said, 'Of course we'll fly you out', and she said, 'Well, what about Lamb Chop?' What *about* Lamb Chop?!? She says that Lamb Chop gets a seat. I swear to God, I almost threw my back out giving her the benefit of the doubt that she wasn't insane. I laughed and she said, 'Lamb Chop doesn't sit in the back'. I said, 'If I'm not mistaken, are we talking about the same Lamb Chop? Because, you know, it's a sock! It's a sock with a button, okay?!?' And it ended up we didn't use her because it was too insane." Chevy Chase said something that had me prostrate on the goddam floor for 2 hours. (Regardless of the fact that Chevy was a dope-addled creep.) Terry Sweeney says to Chevy: "Is there anything I can do for you?" Chevy: "Well for a start you could lick my balls."
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!
Rating:
Summary: I can't believe it took TWO people to write this train wreck
Review: this book's format STINKS. it is one degree away from being a 500 page audio transcript. I am big SNL fan and was very disapointed by this book.
Tom Shales is too lazy to do any writing! each chapter is a nothing more than a series of extended pull quotes from interviews. these interviews are then chopped up and dispearsed through the chapters. this means you get a lot of people saying the same thing over and over. (I didn't find the contradictions anywhere NEAR as interesting as other reviewers did.)
The book is broken up into strange 3-7 year spans which are chapters and then ends with an outrageously long and repetive chapter on Lorne Michaels! there is an index (thank God!) but it's pretty ignorant and not that useful.
there are NO graphics. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not some troglodyte that needs pictures in all the books I read, but I AM a graphic designer who understands how some information design and charts AT LEAST linking names to faces would help in the understanding and appreciation of the book. the only thing that comes close is a text only year by year listing at the very end of the book.
I want to see clearly who had sex with who, who did what drugs, who won the fist fights between chevy and bill murray, etc! charts are SUCH a necessary thing here. I know it's not supposed to be a coffee table book but please, it SHOULD be. this format was completely a pain in the ass to read.
on one page you have Sheri Oteri talking about how she would cry herself to sleep everynight and then three paragraphs later Anna Gaustayer is talking about how Will Farrell was that era's Phil Hartman. It's totally incoherent and non-linear!
Thank God I went to the library to get this. I want a book that actually goes through the trouble of TELLLING a story, not lazily copping out and cobbling together a ream of disconnected quotes.
This book sucks. I enjoyed the Second City retrospective book better.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting overview of SNL's backstage history
Review: This book, comprised mostly of interviews with people that have worked on the Saturday Night Live over the years, really works thanks to the editing. As one person tells an anecdote, Miller & Shales follow it up with someone else telling a contradicting story, or with more details from another source.
The story spans 28 years of the show's history, and does so in great detail. However, Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad's "Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live" does a better job of chronicling the earliest days of the show.
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