“This is a book to be inhaled not just read.”--New York Journal of Books

"The writing in Shoot the Conductor is witty and readable."--Philadelphia Inquirer

“Hilarious and heartbreaking, this memoir is a real page-turner as well as a remarkably accurate account of one extraordinarily gifted musician’s professional ups and (alas!) downs. Anshel Brusilow tells it like it was, con brio and molto vivace.”—Gary Graffman, pianist

“Don’t start reading this memoir by an inspired and inspiring concertmaster, conductor, and teacher too late in the evening, or you may not get much of a night’s sleep. I found it unputdownable, and read the whole book in one sitting. I don’t know which impressed me more: the profound dedication to music evident from first page to last, or the delightfully light and modest touch with which it’s presented. I learned a great deal, too, about the educational process that turns promise into achievement.”—Bernard Jacobson, music critic

"Here is a behind the scenes view of a professional musician's life. From his earliest experiences as a child prodigy, to a concert master of a great orchestra, a soloist and then conductor, Brusilow writes of his life in a very engaging style.”—Bernard Garfield, principal bassoon, Philadelphia Orchestra, retired

“I grew up listening to my father’s classical record collection. Szell, Monteux, Ormandy… these were our household idols. (My father trimmed his mustache after the style of Toscanini). Thank the gods of music, then, for Anshel Brusilow—for his robust humor, his sharp insight into character, and above all for his love of music and music-makers. In this wonderful memoir, the titans leave the podium and step down to earth, allowing us to observe through the eyes of Maestro Brusilow—seated only a few feet away in the concertmaster’s stand—their foibles, pettiness, tantrums, but also their greatness.”—Bill Marvel, writer for The Dallas Morning News and co-author of Islands of the Damned

“While carrying us along with information about these celebrities [Ormandy, Szell, and Monteux], Brusilow simultaneously gives us a good hard look at the day-to-day grim reality of the life of a professional musician.”—Wayne Gay, music critic, D Magazine

“Brusilow has a remarkable way of telling a story that is conversational and easy to read.”—Brian A. Shook, author of Last Stop Carnegie Hall: New York Philharmonic Trumpeter William Vacchiano (UNT Press)