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The Rulebreaker
By Susan Page

CHARGE (what is the author trying to say?): To help us understand who Barbara Walters was.

FACTS: Barbara Walters summed up her “whole package” as “a dysfunctional childhood-a father she couldn’t ever remember ever hugging as a girl; a distracted and disgruntled mother; a disabled sister she both loved and hated.” She had three failed marriages and was estranged for many years from her only child, her daughter Jackie. This book is much more open and honest than Barbara’s own autobiography. Despite her achievements, she was never at peace. Her tombstone reads “No regrets, I had a great life.” But did she really? She died alone, surrounded only by paid employees. She had pushed away most of her friends. While it is undisputed that she made historic achievements and contributions to the field of journalism and broadcasting, it doesn’t appear that she was ever actually happy. Sometimes the price of fame is just too high.

VERDICT (Was the author successful?): Guilty, as charged.

#Netgalley #Therulebreaker

At first I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this book. I wasn't sure I needed to know such copious details of Walters' early life, but as time went on, it became clear that the author's purpose was to show how Walters' roots, particularly her relationship with her father, mother, and older sister, influenced her ambitions and her personality. She was driven to succeed, just as her father had been, and she was never truly able to enjoy her phenomenal success, always wondering when the bottom would fall out, because of the trauma of her early years.
The author handles the details of Barbara's career successes well, telling stories from various angles due to the amazing amount of research she did. The narrative is organized mostly chronologically, but when the author strays from the timeline, it is to offer interesting (sometimes juicy) details about such things as her fierce competition with Diane Sawyer, the lengths to which she went to get the biggest interviews, and her incredible preparation for those interviews.
By the end of the book, I found myself admiring Barbara Walters as the groundbreaker, as well as the rule breaker, she was. "Life and Times" is a great subtitle for this book, as the reader learns a lot about the times in which she lived. This was a great read that went fairly fast. In some ways, I was sorry when it came to an end.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

I made a note in my book journal that most members of my generation would be more likely to remember Gilda Radner's SNL parody of Barbara Waters than the woman herself, which is a shame, What an amazing story of a woman who pushed all kinds of boundaries in order to build herself a successful career in the very male-dominated, and often misogynistic field of journalism and reporting.
I found the story of her family background especially interesting. The cast of characters she met through her father's show business career, and the men she befriended who might have sent other, less bold women, run screaming in the other direction, clearly gave her an advantage in approaching and interviewing newsmakers later in her career.
My only disappointment, as a reader, was the fact that Page doesn't plan to include photos in the final edition, and I'm sure she has a reason for that. I found myself pausing, frequently to search for online photos for a visual timeline of Barbara's family, husbands, career highlights, etc.
Very well done.

Political columnist, commentator, and biographer Susan Page has taken on one of her most famous colleagues, the late Barbara Walter’s as the subject of her latest biography in “The Rulebreaker: the Life and Times of Barbara Walters.”
I admit that I have thought of Walters more as a celebrity than journalist. Her early accomplishments as a reporter and groundbreaking television newsperson have become eclipsed by her later work on celebrity interview shows. However, thanks to Page’s extensive research, readers will be reminded of Barbara Walters in her early news career and of the barriers she faced in the man’s world that was the news business. While reading I was reminded of Harry Reasoner’s disgust at being partnered with Walters on ABC’s evening news program. “He didn’t want to co-anchor the news with anyone. Especially with a woman.” Such was the atmosphere Walters faced. She was ambitious and driven, traits that were applauded in men, but denigrated in women like Barbara Walters when she began her career.
Walters’ early family and personal life is also described in the book. She was very protective of her family and her past, sometimes to the point of lying about some parts of her life, something I found interesting coming from someone who sought truth from the subjects of her stories and interviews. This portion of the book is a sometimes-unflattering account of Walters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy for review.

I’ve read a lot about Barbara Walters in the past. I also read her book Audition many years ago.
This was quite different. The author gives a unique perspective of just how hard Barbara had to push and ingratiate herself into a man’s world. She refused to give up and worked so hard! Many men refused to give her credit or even let her ask questions in interviews unless they allowed it. Unbelievable
Unfortunately, her incredible ambition superseded her marriages and child. Her relationship with her father had the biggest influence on her over everything.
I thought this book was tough on her at times. ( especially her competition with other women) I’m not sure Barbara would have approved. I enjoyed it. It was excellent writing and I’d recommend it.

You know why I love biographies, it’s because you get to see people like people and not like icons who have know flaws. I thinks it’s the flaws that makes us better and grow.

There were so many things I didn’t know about Barbara Walters, I didn’t know about her family, her husbands, her friends, her daughter. I didn’t know how hard it was to do what she did well or how much hate among the male reporters there was toward her and other women at the time, so sad. I also didn’t know what happened to her at the end until this book and it would have been a shame if I never knew.

I have always admired Barbara Walters because she seemed so strong and determined to accomplish what she set out to do and without it we wouldn’t have seen what went on behind-the scene of some very powerful people and we are better for it.

The book is very well written and easy to understand and doesn’t have a lot of fluff but has just the facts which readers should enjoy.

I want to thank Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of the story of Barbara Walters

A stunning meticulously researched and compulsively readable bio of the Queen of Broadcast TV. I grew up wanting to be her and was even influenced to go to J school because of her break-the-glass-ceiling success. Highly recommended!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Opinions are mine.

I've always admired Barbara Walters and her go to attitude and professionalism. However, reading this story, I was disappointed and disillusioned by her treatment of others and her method of getting ahead to reach her goals. Her "take no prisoners" mentality diminished my admiration. However, the title holds true, that she was a rule breaker and needed to be in order to break the barriers to rise in her field. How unfortunate thought that to do so was at the cost of her relationship with her daughter and family. It goes to show you that while you may see personalities on TV and think you know them, you don't. A difficult childhood nurtured her desire to take care of herself and achieve what she achieved. Interesting and enlightening, I think it is a good read to get to know someone so instrumental in setting the bar for women in journalism. Many thanks to #netgalley #therulebreaker #susanpage for the opportunity to read and review this book.

What a groundbreaker! There's so much I didn't know about this icon! She definitely places a way for the next generation of journalists... Female journalists! What a great story!

Interesting biography. She knew a lot of evil people. She was good at interviewing evil people. Some so evil I had to skip the chapter devoted to one man in particular.

Thank you to NetGalley as well as Ms Page for the opportunity to read and review “The Rulebreaker” in exchange for my honest feedback. Ms Page does a wonderful job transporting us through Ms Walter’s magnificent life as a trailblazer and powerhouse.

Ms Walters forged her way through the male dominated industry while proving she could overcome nearly every obstacle in her way, personally or professionally. Ms Page does a wonderful job exploring and writing in detail how those obstacles were overcome through various interviews retold or had in this novel.

A must read for anyone interested in the life and legacy of Ms Walter’s as well as biography enthusiasts alike.

"At a time when ambition was seen as unladylike, Barbara plowed into a profession that wasn’t ready to welcome her."

Susan Page has written a strong, in-depth look into the life of Barbara Walters. Her research on this project was vast – conducting interviews with more than 150 people and diving deep into archival research.
As a woman currently working in the TV news industry, so many of us appreciate the path that Barbara paved. The whispered stories about her are legendary – her notecards filled with questions, the way she’d book her subjects, her endless research. It’s difficult to explain the admiration so many people had for her – while they also simultaneously dealt with the fear of crossing her. She was unapologetic about who she was, and Page’s biography truly captures who she was – a brilliant, but complicated figure who conquered journalism despite many roadblocks. Her determination got her her career – but cost her a great deal personally.
So often in memoirs details are buffed and polished. Page’s look at her is unvarnished – showing the highest highs of career and the lowest lows of her life. Throughout it all, it was made clear that Walters’ greatest motivator was her ambition – and that she put in more work than any other so she could have the career of a lifetime.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing an advanced reader copy.

This is a well researched biography of Barbara Walters that features insights from over 150 interviews. It is a multifaceted portrayal of a life lived with fervor and tenacity. Her family life and childhood give insight into what drove her to succeed. The Rulebreaker is a well written biography that kept my interest throughout the stories of Walters’ life. I appreciate that women fought hard to overcome the struggles of misogyny, sexual harassment, and equal rights. Barbara Walters worked well into her 80s to show the world what she could do. She had an amazing life, I appreciated learning her life story. Thank you Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was a very in-depth book on Barbara Walters’ life and career. I was bummed that she did put others down but that she did her own thing and didn’t let anyone stop her. It was interesting to read how she prepared for interviews.

I would first like to thank the author for letting me read an advanced copy of this book.

The Rulebreaker takes you on a journey from start to finish of Barbara Walters’ life. The triumph, the failure, the shady, and the downright impressive feats she accomplished throughout her storied career. There is not a page left unturned by Susan Page. The interviews and mass amounts of facts within each sentence are incredible and make this a must read for anyone and everyone. Each one of us can learn something from Barbara Walters. After finishing this book, I want to watch every interview she has done. The history and the magnitude of what was accomplished keeps you turning the page. Well written and well done!

A great memoir for someone familiar with Barbara Walters. There were sometimes too many names to keep track of... and felt very non-linear. It was enjoyable as someone who watched her on 20/20 and The View. Most of my students wouldn't know her.

4.5 stars

Barbara Walters was a ground-breaking American broadcast journalist and television personality. For this biography of Walters, journalist Susan Page conducted 150 interviews, did extensive archival research, and consulted Barbara's 2008 memoir 'Audition.'

Barbara Walters, born in 1929, is well known for her long and eventful career. Among many other things, Barbara was a cohost of the Today show; was the first woman to co-anchor the ABC Evening News; was a co-anchor of 20/20; created The View; hosted Oscar night specials; and interviewed the year's '10 Most Fascinating People' from 1993 to 2015. None of it came easy. Barbara came up before the women's movement, and her male colleagues - like Harry Reasoner and Walter Cronkite - viewed her with disdain and pulled for her to fail.

Over the course of her career, Barbara interviewed every sitting POTUS and FLOTUS from Nixon to Obama, as well as a smorgasbord of other newsmakers, including heads of state; Hollywood celebrities; presidential advisers; athletes; criminals; despots; and many more. Interestingly, Barbara was able to develop an on-air rapport with notorious figures like Fidel Castro and Muammar Qaddafi and fearlessly posed questions to other dictators and killers.

Walters came by her passion for the limelight from her father Lou Walters, a Jewish immigrant from London who became an entertainment magnate. In the roaring twenties, Lou started his show business career by booking acts - singers, dancers, comedians, jugglers, magicians, musicians, acrobats, etc. - for speakeasies, cabarets, vaudeville halls and the like. In time Lou opened his own nightclubs, including the 'Latin Quarter' clubs in New York, Boston, and South Florida.

Becauses of Lou's peripatetic work he moved his family - wife Dena and daughters Jackie and Barbara - from place to place, back and forth, over and over again.

Lou's career had ups and downs and he was a compulsive gambler, which resulted in the impresario making and losing fortunes time and time again. Thus the Walters family might live in a mansion one day, and a dreary crowded apartment the next. As an adult, Barbara often bailed out her dad, and took care of her mother and sister as needed.

Due to her father's work, Barbara grew up in nightclubs, watching glitzy shows and meeting gangsters who frequented the venues. Author Susan Page speculates this is what later made Barbara comfortable with men like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, notorious lawyer Roy Cohn, and other persons of that ilk.

As a child, Barbara's personal life was difficult, because her father strayed, her parents argued, her sister had special needs, and Barbara was frequently yanked from one school to another - which made it hard to make friends.

In time, Barbara graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and began her news career in the publicity department of an NBC affiliate. Barbara then moved on to produce a half-hour TV program, called 'The Eloise McElhone Show', which featured cooking lessons, fashion tips, exercise demonstrations, and so on.

Author Susan Page thoroughly documents the progress of Barbara's career, step by arduous step. Barbara had a hard climb against formidable odds that included sexual harassment; purposeful male roadblocks; policies that dictated only one woman in the newsroom; intense rivalry with other journalists; Barbara's slight speech impediment (which was the source of much merriment on SNL skits); and other obstacles.

Barbara was ambitious and relentless, however, and fought hard to get the best interviews, often purposely undercutting and outmaneuvering her colleages, and even 'stealing' interviews when she could. Once Barbara hid in a bathroom at Camp David when her fellow newspeople boarded a bus to leave; Barbara was hoping to corner Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and Defense MInister Ezer Weizman for interviews.

In Barbara's private life she had many romantic relationships and was married three times, to Robert Katz, Lee Guber, and Merv Adelson. Barbara tended to be attracted to assertive men and risk-takers like her father, which may have been a factor in her abbreviated unions. Barbara and her second husband Lee Guber adopted a daughter named Jacqueline (Jackie), a troubled girl with whom Barbara had a fractious relationship. Like many successful people, Barbara was inclined to put her career ahead of her personal affairs, and was she was willing to pay the price.

Barbara paved the way for many women journalists, who laud Barbara for breaking the glass ceiling. Norah O'Donnell said "She inspired me." Katic Couric recalls, "For me, to see someone like that made me imagine the possibilities." Pat Mitchell remembers Barbara telling her, "Don't listen to anyone who gives you reasons you will fail. Just prove them wrong." Deborah Roberts observed, "She was a generous mentor-by-example." And long-time rival Diane Sawyer noted, "She was so brilliant. She had such a wonderful idea for creating a signature, just writing it aross the sky."

Susan Page's biography is thorough, informative, and VERY gossipy. I was interested to learn that Barbara had a long-term affair with married African-American Senator Edward William Brooke III; that she sent her daughter Jackie to a program in Idaho for troubled teens; that she secretly conveyed a message from Iranian arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar to President Reagan; that she vacationed with Judith Sheindlin (Judge Judy) on Shendlin's private yacht; that she sat in the front row of Oscar de la Renta fashion shows with Vogue's Anna Wintour; that she regularly luncheoned with powerhouse women in New York media for gossip and laughs; that when Gilda Radner (who parodied Barbara on SNL) died, Barbara sent a sympathy note signed 'Baba Wawa'; that when male anchors gave Barbara a hard time, actor John Wayne sent her a telegram reading, 'Don't let the bastards get you down'; that lawyer Roy Cohn was secretly homosexual and Barbara was his 'beard'; and much more.

When Barbara died in 2022, at age ninety-three, her remains were cremated and buried next to her mother, father, and sister. Barbara's marker reads, "No regrets. I had a great life."

I enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley, Susan Page, and Simon & Shuster for a copy of the book.

The ‘No Regrets’ inscription on her tombstone matched accurately depicted the iconic Barbara Walters. While her life was spent pushing boundaries, she sacrificed family in the pursuit of fame.

Before reading the book, I idolized her ‘rule-breaker’ attitude and respected that she forged her own path in a male-dominated industry.

The fact that she was willing to put others down to succeed, I don’t respect, I've experienced firsthand women willing to throw others under the bus to succeed. I don’t respect that attitude and reading the novel, I no longer hold her in high esteem. That being said, I credit #Netgalley and the publisher for providing glimpses of the real woman behind the myth.

Barbara Walters would be honored with this inspiring book by Susan Page, best-selling author of biographies. It’s well written with highlights from 150 interviews.

Page outlined Walter’s battles as a female in the 60s work field. She had to break through the barriers with men dominating the roles covering the news. She was a fierce competitor and worked diligently over time to make connections for hard-to-get interviews. She managed to win a $1 million five-year contract with ABC News co-anchoring the evening news with Harry Reasoner in 1976.

The book showed how her career took off over the years in amazing ways with powerful interviews of politicians, celebrities and even murderers. She had no fear of sitting down with Fidel Castro, Yasir Arafat and Menachem Begin with her carefully prepared set of questions.

However, the question for her was: can a woman have it all? While Walters had a strong career with a high salary, there was another side of her life. She had to rescue her father from his debt and help her anxious mother with a sister that was disabled. She had three failed marriages and an adopted daughter that was constantly having problems of sorts. Life wasn’t easy for her at home and yet she seemed to always prevail especially while delivering the news.

Anyone who reads this book will get a comprehensive view of one lady who dedicated her life to pave the way for female journalists. It’s engaging from the first page with details of her remarkable career. It shows a friendly side of Walters in the news room and at events but also reveals how intense she was when getting the story.

Her life always appeared like a picture of the wonder woman yet the book exposes the many challenges she had to endure. Gilda Radner famously made fun of her on Saturday Night Live. At the end, she had “no regrets.”

My thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of April 23, 2024.

Susan Page does an outstanding job with her biography of Barbara Walters in The Rulebreaker. It is an incredible page-turner that spans Barbara's childhood, phenomenal career, her health decline, and passing on December 30, 2022.

Barbara paved the path for many women journalists and was unapologetic about her drive, ambition, strategies, and scrappy tactics to "get" the interview. Page stated that Barbara turned "the get" into a contact sport without any rules. Barbara's career began when being ambitious was unladylike. She did not play by the rules and shattered barriers in order to advance her career.

Her style of interviewing was unique and humanized many celebrities, politicians, as well as murderers and criminals. Barbara thoroughly prepared for all interviews and often had 200+ notecards with questions on them that she refined and resorted many, many times before the actual interview. She treated interviews like a three act play and ensured on a tantalizing beginning and a memorable ending. Her interview with Monica Lewinsky is used as a case study in law schools as an example of effective direct examination.

Barbara's personal life included three marriages, three divorces, and the adoption of a daughter, Jackie, who was named after Barbara's disabled sister. Throughout Barbara's life, she felt responsible for the financial responsibilities of her parents and her sister.

Two memorable passages in the book:

* Katie Couric stated that Barbara was rattling cages before women were allowed in the zoo.

* Gilda Radner played Baba Wawa on Saturday Night Live and Barbara was not a fan of this caricature of herself. When Radner passed away, Barbara sent a sympathy card to Radner's husband, Gene Wilder, and signed it Baba Wawa.

It's a poignant, in-depth portrayal of a legend.