The self-described "king of all media" shares personal introspection and favorite celebrity interviews in his first book in two decades.Stern (Miss America, 1995, etc.) is in top form in this entertaining amalgam of intimate confessional and Q-and-A archive. Opting for an older, wiser perspective this time around, the author strips away the juvenile raunch and sophomoric humor that made his first books runaway bestsellers. The book's introduction, a meaty, contemplative 19-page affair, finds Stern, 65, candidly discussing his struggles with OCD, random regrets (namely his treatment of Robin Williams and Rosie O'Donnell), greatest moments (interviews with Conan O'Brien and Paul McCartney, animal rescue efforts), his move to SiriusXM in 2006, and the day he inexplicably took a rare show-day off to attend to an undisclosed cancer scare. It's a kinder, gentler, all-grown-up side of the shock jock, which he credits to aggressive psychotherapy and his second wife, Beth. However, it's the intimate, provocative celebrity interviews that make up the bulk of this weighty tome and which the author admits "represent my best work and show my personal evolution." With his advancing age came wisdom, humility, empathy, and a dramatic sea change in the show's direction and focus, as evidenced in more nuanced, probing interviews with Courtney Love, Joan Rivers, Michael J. Fox, Chris Cornell, and Lady Gaga, among others. Stern introduces each conversation with his personal perspective on the individual and the impression they made. His honest conversations with actors, music legends, and others represent an eclectic cross-section of celebrities, and his questions range from the piercing to the downright ridiculous. Perhaps the book's most startling interview segments are those with a pre-presidential Donald Trump, whom Stern has interviewed dozens of times. Throughout the book, which is divided into thematic sections ("Sex Relationships," "Money Fame," "Drugs Sobriety," "Gone Too Soon," etc.), the author's personal growth and enduring legacy as a broadcast pioneer and unique profiler are on full display.A surprisingly warm and consistently outspoken retrospective for both fans and celebrity followers. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

It's been almost 25 years since Howard Stern came to a library near you. His two previous books, Private Parts (1993) and Miss America (1995), were puerile, gross, outrageous, and often hysterically funny. Here, Stern takes a more measured tone. Not that there aren't gross and outrageous moments, but Stern, now in his 60s and after years of psychotherapy, wants readers to know he's matured. This is primarily a collection of his favorite interviews, but each chapter opens with an introduction that not only talks about his relationship with his subject, but also addresses how their discussion is tangled with issues and obsessions in Stern's own life. That means talking to Lena Dunham about shedding inhibitions and to Larry David about being a fellow misanthrope. There is also Stern's insistent (often cringeworthy, for the uninitiated) curiosity about the sex lives of his subjects. Point in fact: pushing to find out from Michael J. Fox what masturbation is like for a guy with Parkinson's Disease. The sex aspect also rears its head (pun intended) in the intermittent interview excerpts from frequent Stern guest Donald Trump ("Now a Word from Our President"). Whether in snippets from a variety of people on topics ranging from religion to drug use, or in the longer, several-page interviews, Stern does know how to get his subjects to reveal themselves for the audience's entertainment. And, of course, he willingly sheds his own inhibitions, not that there's much to disclose after all this time. Vintage Stern, well seasoned.--Ilene Cooper Copyright 2019 Booklist