Summary: "In the tradition of book anthologies created from public radio programs such as StoryCorps and This I Believe, THE MOTH collects the best storytelling moments--most in print here for the very first time--straight from their archive of more than 3000 shows since the first Moth Evening in 1997. From James Braly's struggling with what to do when his three-year-old son wants a pink bicycle to Dr. George Lombardi's flying to India to save Mother Theresa's life, from former U.S. Press Secretary Joe Lockhart'soversleeping after a long night in a Moscow bar and missing Air Force One on his first international trip, to Ed Gavagan's surviving being stabbed by a gang and then testifying at their trial, these 40 stories range from sublime to heartbreaking to hilarious, and this collection will feature the very best. Backed by The Moth's own efforts and their expanding syndication and live event efforts in 2012-2013, this book will be an important and cherished read for existing fans of the program, literary fans of some of the featured storytellers, and oral history buffs coast-to-coast"-- - (Baker & Taylor)
Kirkus Reviews
Storytellers from a diverse array of backgrounds present true tales via a New York–based organization broadcasting at themoth.org. For all its vital cultural roots, storytelling makes a strange bedfellow with the printed page. In this self-congratulatory volume--readers can plow through a preface, a foreword and an introduction before even getting to the first story--stories originally told before live audiences are transcribed and edited to no discernible purpose, considering that they are all available in their original formats on the website. The stories run the gamut from childhood memories to love and marriage to illness, crime, war and family secrets, with several epiphanies thrown in for good measure. Some are quite moving--e.g., rapper Darryl "DMC" McDaniels' account of how Sarah McLachlan's music saved him from depression and geneticist Paul Nurse's discovery that the woman he had thought was his sister was actually his mother. Malcolm Gladwell's "Her Way" manages to be both hilarious and heartbreaking in its evocation of a friendship's end. Others that should pack a punch, including writer Jillian Lauren's "The Prince and I," about her stint as a courtesan to the Sultan of Brunei, fall flat on the page. Therein lies the problem with this anthology: These stories are meant to be experienced in a live venue, where listeners can immerse themselves in each teller's unique sense of tone and timing. Unlike personal essays, stories require give and take from an audience, which prompts the question: Why bother printing these in an age when people who couldn't attend the original sessions can easily access live footage online? Other contributors include A.E. Hotchner, Adam Gopnik, Sebastian Junger and Nathan Englander. Comes across as a vanity project that does little credit to the storytelling process. Copyright Kirkus 2013 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
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