Off camera

"One of America's most admired television newsmen now gives us an intimate chronicle of the final year of the twentieth century. In his engrossing narrative, the year's personalities and events not only are themselves made vivid but also lead to wide-ranging discussions of the past and of expectations of things to come.". "And Koppel's book moves on yet another level as events trigger memories of his own past, providing a more personal resonance to his telling of the history we all share. He takes us back to the England in which he lived until he was thirteen. He revisits his powerful experiences as an interviewer investigating prison abuses and probing the violence in our schools. He discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the media; he talks about racial intolerance, about brutality toward homosexuals, about the absence of political leadership. He also examines such cultural phenomena as our obsession with celebrity and the impact of great theater and overhyped movies."--BOOK JACKET.