Includes bibliographical references (pages 579-714).
Contents:
Introduction: Million-dollar baby -- A glass eye and a British accent -- Roots -- Lou and Dena -- Never young -- "The strongest influence in my life" -- The fifth-grader and the bootlegger -- Another opening, another show -- The ostrich -- The speedwriting secretarial school -- The most forgettable husband; the most notorious friend -- Catastrophe -- "A halo of fear" -- Sunrise -- A godfather of the mafia sort -- Becoming Barbara Walters -- The runaway bride -- The "pushy cookie"-- "It's a girl!" -- A melody played in a penny arcade -- McGee's law -- When love is not enough -- Careful what you wish for -- Failure -- Fidel -- Comeback -- The man she married (but only once) -- The runaway daughter -- The honeymoon and the arms dealer -- Loss -- Diane -- You can't have it all -- The yin and the yang -- The Barbara Walters interview -- Bette Davis and the Dalai Lama -- The View -- Monica -- Trump -- One more time -- The fall -- The end -- Epilogue: The rulebreaker -- Acknowledgments -- Source notes -- Notes.
Summary:
"Barbara Walters was a force from the time TV was exploding on the American scene in the 1960s to its waning dominance in a world of streaming services half a century later. She expanded the big TV interview and then dominated the genre. By the end of her career, she had interviewed more of the famous and infamous than any other journalist in history. At sixty-seven she pioneered a new form of TV talk called The View. The Rulebreaker is the eye-opening account of the woman who knew she had to break all the rules so she could break all the rules about what viewers deserved to know"-- Back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.