The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars | 261 ratings

Price: 19.68

Last update: 01-19-2025


About this item

A “smart, juicy, deeply reported” (Katie Couric) biography of the most successful female broadcaster of all time—Barbara Walters—a woman whose personal demons fueled an ambition that broke all the rules and finally gave women a permanent place on the air, written by bestselling author Susan Page.

Barbara Walters was a force from the time TV was exploding on the American scene in the 1960s to its waning dominance in a new world of competition from streaming services and social media half a century later. She was not just a groundbreaker for women (Oprah announced when she was seventeen that she wanted to be Barbara Walters), but also 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, from presidents to movie stars to criminals to despots, than any other journalist in history. Then at sixty-seven, past the age of many female broadcasters found themselves involuntarily retired, she pioneered a new form of talk TV called The View. She is on the short list of those who have left the biggest imprints on television news and on our culture, male or female. So, who was the woman behind the legacy?

In The Rulebreaker, Susan Page conducts 150 interviews and extensive archival research to discover that Walters was driven to keep herself and her family afloat after her mercurial and famous impresario father attempted suicide. But she never lost the fear of an impending catastrophe, which is what led her to ask for things no woman had ever asked for before, to ignore the rules of misogynistic culture, to outcompete her most ferocious competitors, and to protect her complicated marriages and love life from scrutiny.

Page breaks news on every front—from the daring things Walters did to become the woman who reinvented the TV interview to the secrets she kept until her heath. This is the “stunning” (Norah O’Donnell), “brilliantly written” (Andrea Mitchell) 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.


Top reviews from the United States

  • G.R.Egoville
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2025
    Susan Page has written an excellent biography about Barbara Walters, who needs no introduction. What makes Ms Page's rendition even better than Barbara's own autobiography is the warmth and personality she brings to her subject . This iconic reporter who achieved heights beyond even her ambitions becomes real with her drive, insecurities, disappointments and sensitivity.
    Having read and loved Ms Page's book about Barbara Bush, I am not surprised at the depth and charm the author conveys to Barbara.
    Anyone who grew up watching Barbara Walters should read this lovely book.
  • amachinist
    4.0 out of 5 stars Her Work Sustained Her
    Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2024
    Barbara Walters wrote her autobiography in 2008 entitled Audition. The author of The Rulebreaker, as expected, relied heavily on Barbara's work as a reference. A reader might wonder, "Why not just read what Barbara had to say about herself?" Like most of us, Walters, a consummate journalist and interviewer who sought the most intimate details about the lives of the rich, famous and infamous, was not always truthful about her own life.

    Her father, who was involved in show business, was a huge influence on her life. His financial situation waxed and waned and after his death, Walters took on the financial responsibility for both her mother and mentally disabled sister, but kept them at a distance in Florida while she settled in NY City, the nucleus of the broadcasting business.

    Walters was determined to be a primetime journalist. She was marginalized because she was a woman and was forced, initially, to work behind the scenes as an editor of news shows. In the end, this gave her the experience to craft and edit her own broadcasts when she did break through as an anchor. She changed the definition of an interview by in-depth research and writing, sometimes over a hundred questions for each guest. These interviews were at times revealing, painfully intimate and emotional. The book highlights several of these including Walters' interview with Monica Lewinsky.

    Walters could be cutthroat in her determination to get an interview. She was NOT a team player and frequently went to great lengths to scoop an interview which had been promised to other female reporters. This did not endear her to her female colleagues, though most had to admit that Barbara Walters had blazed the trail for women broadcasters. In 1996 she founded the all female talk show called The View. It became a hit and was seen as a feminist advancement in the broadcast business.

    Barbara's personal life was not as successful as her career in terms of her estrangement from her adopted daughter and three failed marriages. In 2014, when Walters retired from The View, all ten previous co-hosts and two dozen of the nation's leading female broadcasters appeared to give Barbara a huge testimony to the impact she had on their lives. Perhaps, this was her true family and legacy.
  • Shelley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting
    Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2024
    This is such a well written and interesting book. The author does an excellent job of explaining the significance of the many achievements of this groundbreaking journalist. I found this fascinating from cover to cover and will be recommending it to others as a must read.
  • Sissy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ba Ba Wa Wa
    Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2025
    Used book about Barbara Walters. Arrived in timely manner and in good condition.
  • Book Club with friends
    3.0 out of 5 stars Barbara Waters Examined
    Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2024
    Too long and too detailed. But it is interesting.
  • Jazz Fan
    4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched
    Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2024
    I had read Barbara’s biography several years ago. I read so many books that I didn’t remember a whole lot about it. This was a nice refresher and told from so many who knew Barbara. I loved their perspective on what they observed about her. This was part bio, part history and I love history. I highly recommend it.
  • Sandi
    5.0 out of 5 stars She Set Her Goals and Met Them.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2024
    An incredible portrait of a true journalist. Extremely well written by Ms. Page.
  • Lori S
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2024
    Talks about the media like I've never known. Good or bad, Barbara was an inspiration to me, as a career woman. Expected to give my all, at the drop of a hat, being military, you become somewhat driven. Like Barbara.

    • Best Sellers in

     
     

    I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 26,338
    20.94
     
     

    My Name Is Barbra

    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 7,862
    39.38
     
     

    Paris: The Memoir

    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,155
    22.04
     
     

    Rebel Rising: A Memoir

    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 960
    17.05
     
     

    Inside Out: A Memoir

    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 14,284
    17.32
     
     

    400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons From a Veteran Patrolman

    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 985
    16.41
     
     

    The Woman in Me

    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 49,375
    16.4
     
     

    The Storyteller: Expanded: ...Because There's More to the Story

    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 35,157
    22.04