In the Weeds

Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

By: Tom Vitale

Narrated by: Tom Vitale

Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Anthony Bourdain's long-time director and producer takes listeners behind the scenes to reveal the insanity of filming television in some of the most volatile places in the world and what it was like to work with a legend.

In the nearly two years since Anthony Bourdain's death, no one else has come close to filling the void he left. His passion for and genuine curiosity about the people and cultures he visited made the world feel smaller and more connected. Despite his affable, confident, and trademark snarky TV persona, the real Tony was intensely private, deeply conflicted about his fame, and an enigma even to those close to him. Tony’s devoted crew knew him best, and no one else had a front-row seat for as long as his director and producer, Tom Vitale.

Over the course of more than a decade traveling together, Tony became a boss, a friend, a hero and, sometimes, a tormentor. In the Weeds takes listeners behind the scenes to reveal not just the insanity that went into filming in some of the most far-flung and volatile parts of the world but what Tony was like unedited and off-camera. From the outside, the job looked like an all-expenses-paid adventure to places like Borneo, Vietnam, Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Libya. What happened off-camera was far more interesting than what made it to air. The more things went wrong, the better it was for the show. Fortunately, everything fell apart constantly.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Tom Vitale (P)2021 Hachette Books

Great book. Poor narration by the author.

Loved the book. Left it and home and had to finish on Audible. The regular narration is good, his reading of quotes uses (poorly) impersonated voices which were distracting and a bit annoying. Would have benefited from a pro narrator.

Funny, heartwarming, disturbing, and shocking

This book gives a new perspective to the Anthony Bourdain we are all used to seeing on TV.

More of a collection of experiences rather than a cohesive novel, this book shows "Parts Unknown" from a totally new angle. It shows the incredible amount of work that went into making the show, and recounts some of the most exciting, terrifying, unsettling, and heartwarming experiences that Tom had while directing the show.

Told by someone who genuinely knew Tony, it gives the reader a window into what he was like off camera.

If you are looking for answers as to why Tony took his own life, this book doesn't have them. No one will truly know the demons he was battling. However, it is a great tribute to Tony and a celebration of his life and legacy. You can tell when listening that writing this book was an emotional challenge for Tom, and those emotions are conveyed beautifully through his own narration.

I highly recommend this book to any Anthony Bourdain fans, world travelers, and anyone wanting to be taken on a journey with one of the most influential chefs and personalities of the modern world.

Loves hearing Tony's impact on Tom's life

I'm a huge fan of anything Bourdain related. Really speaks volumes of the impact Tony made on others. I enjoyed that Tom was the orator of his own story. Parts are quite funny, especially the crews take on not eating a lot of the local delicacies. I've read both Toms and Lori's books and appreciate both their points of view of their time with Tony and how both evolved personally.

Absolutely Incredible

Such incredible storytelling. You can definitely see why Tony considered him his A team all these years. Absolutely blown away with how great this book is. I binged it in one day.

A Great Second Perspective

There are mixed reviews of people saying that this book isn't representative of Anthony Bourdain's voice, but I think that is a misguided review. The book isn't trying to be Tony, the book is from the perspective of his right hand man, Tom. You can tell that it was written with a lot of love, as well as sadness. It also provides some great insights into what happened on the shows behind the camera. I found myself binging this book and was sad when it came to an end.

Reflection is the books purpose. Moving forward is it’s intent. -Not just for anyone wanting more Bourdain!

Not just for anyone who just wants more Bourdain! Tom Vitale does a great and respectful job of documenting his experiences, thoughts and emotions during his 20 years working along side him. All of being professionally and personally melded into his life and work. The journey reveals opportunities and costs of the choices of self dedication and appreciation (and need) for the division of self from those activities. I hope Vitale finds many pages to fill in his future thoughts and accounts of his next accomplishments. -And maybe, follows that voice he finds taking him out of “the weeds”.

A lovely behind-the-scenes glimpse, but more for Tom than it is for us

Clearly this book was a part of a therapeutic process for Vitale, and I both admire & respect that. The content is interesting and somewhat new for Bourdain fans, but the writing is a little disjointed and, at times, lacking. I also didn't love the voices Vitale did in his performance, but I got used to it by the end (except for that woeful Asia impression which made her sound like a 80yr old mobster). Overall, I feel like this book was written for the author himself, and I just happened to have the pleasure of following along. I feel greatly for his situation and was moved by his struggles both with and without Bourdain.

Would recommend, but don't expect it to be "A Cook's Tour." Enjoy it for what it is: a softer, more straightforward telling of Bourdain & Vitale's stories.

Amazing

Incredible book about Anthony Bourdain. Behind the scenes to greatness. Everything about this is well done.

Thank you for this Tom!!

Tom, please continue your writing and storytelling. This book filled and tugged at my heart. What a truly, extraordinary experience. Thank you

Beautiful, entertaining, and melancholy in the best ways

I chose this book as someone who has had a love an appreciation for Anthony Bourdain and was hoping to get more out of a story that ended too soon. What I ended up with was love and appreciation for Tom Vitale. I loved his writing and his reading of his book. It opened my heart and and made me take pause and reflect. It also made me laugh quite hard many times. I will reread this, I will recommend this, and I will not soon forget it.