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Keep Talking
- A Broadcasting Life
- Narrated by: David Dimbleby
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
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Keep Talking
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Summary
David Dimbleby reflects on his 50 year career at the BBC taking us behind the scenes of some of the biggest moments in British broadcasting.
David Dimbleby has interviewed prime ministers and presidents, made award-winning documentaries, chaired Question Time for 25 years, and anchored the BBC's live coverage of historic national and world events.
Keep Talking is David's wry look at his own extraordinary career, and the people, events and controversies he has encountered along the way. As a broadcaster for the BBC, David had an obligation to appear a neutral observer. Now finally 'off the leash', he writes without inhibition but with his characteristic wit, clarity and insight, about monarchy, politics, and the state of Britain.
His book is enlivened with honest accounts of broadcasting from the inside—from commentating on Diana's funeral to anchoring ten successive General Election night results programmes. The faux pas, the secrets of the craft and what he was really thinking are shared for the first time. He reveals his own battles with politicians; queries the purpose and effect of political interviews; and considers the power of broadcasting—through programmes such as Question Time—to explore and amplify the public voice. Whilst profoundly British, the book ranges wider, in particular reflecting David's time in many countries, including Southern Africa and the United States.
David has been there for us at nearly every major national event of the last fifty years. Serious, outspoken and leavened with humour, Keep Talking reveals how David has seen it all—and is now telling it as he sees it.
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What listeners say about Keep Talking
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Bee Pawsitive
- 20-05-23
An interesting listen, nicely read by David
Quite different to my usual read, but glad of the change. It’s an interesting listen and I do like it when the author reads their own book - thanks David. Lots of interesting insights. Very heavy on the BBC line of things, but hey that’s to be expected, and I didn’t find it too off-putting until the last couple of chapters I think it was when BBC talk seemed to overpower the story. On the whole, a good listen for my weekly commutes.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anita
- 14-02-23
A truly wonderful book
I found this book a wonderful trip down memory lane.
It is informative, nostalgic, and narrated in the most beautiful
manner.
I got lost in the words.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alpha
- 28-03-23
Brilliant
So glad I chose something different for a change to listen to. Couldn't put it down.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- C Kendall
- 23-09-23
it was all going swimmingly, until
national treasure David Dimbleby described Jimmy Savile as having "had sex with underage girls and boys" instead of the actual legal definition of "having raped children". For someone who is so particular about details, this is a shocking failure to address the actual truth head on.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- BarnieWal
- 27-10-22
Superb Story of Dimbleby’s BBC journey
A fascinating insight into the world of the BBC and David Dimbleby’s account of it. Anyone interested in history, politics and broadcasting will be in for a treat.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-11-22
SPEAK THE TRUTH
I thought this book was Very interesting, and enjoyable .
What will the BBC be like in the future?
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- T
- 04-09-23
A very entertaining and informative listen
I enjoyed this a lot. If you're looking for an introspective critique of David Dimbleby and his place in the BBC and public life, you'll be a bit disappointed. You'll probably be also disappointed at the brief moments at which he analyses the chances given to him by his upbringing.
But if you know about Dimbleby or the BBC, you'll know much of that anyway. What he does is provide a very interesting account of his career, and the consequences of it for the BBC and politics. It's entertaining, well written and well read (although I'd recommend listening on 1.15x speed).
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Roger Boyle
- 06-09-23
A Beautiful, but realistic love letter to the BBC
An excellent book, beautifully narrated by the author. It covers most of his 70 year broadcasting career , and gives some insight into his family ( especially his father) and recounts stories about great figures in the 20th & 21st Century
He mentions McMillan,Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher,Blair,Brown , & Cameron. He gives scant regard to Johnson.
His insights into great figures like Mandela are wonderful and his honesty about failures in BBC journalism including the death of the weapons inspector Kelly, the Martin Bashir interview & the failure to investigate Saville are open and truthful
And finally his mellifluous voice in the narration was superb.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Graham G Grant
- 10-10-22
Answer Time
Dimbleby is in retrospective mode: this is part-memoir, part-investigation and part-essay focusing on the BBC, his long-time erstwhile employer (though he was back in action commentating during some of the Queen’s funeral). He’s a champion of the Beeb — and believes it’s too often unfairly targeted by politicians with axes to grind. But he isn’t blind to its faults. Dimbleby, in forensic fashion, looks at scandals which have hit the corporation - recent and yesteryear. Savile, Gilligan Bashir - there are quite a few - and Dimbleby’s own run-in with Harold Wilson, who didn’t like questions about his private income. Management suits are often to blame for blunders. Dimbleby complains that the Beeb sitcom W1A is all too accurate. The opening sections about Dimbleby’s early career as a political interviewer; the probing of Beeb controversies; and the final essay on whither now for the BBC are all excellent. He’s a fantastic narrator. The disclosures about Royal reporting and commentating are a highlight. There’s a lot in the closing stages about his foreign reporting, including from Rhodesia and Albania. Some of it is very good — but I didn’t find it as compelling as the rest (others might). It’s an eminently listenable book by a man who can stake a reasonable claim to being our greatest living broadcaster.
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- Tinder1
- 11-02-24
Almost impossible to put it down!
The book is captivating, intellectually stimulating, and thought-provoking. It effectively altered my perspective on the significance of preserving the BBC and the license fee. The author provides intriguing historical accounts from his personal experiences, including encounters with Nelson Mandela, the highs and lows of his career, and insights on leading a fulfilling life despite the influence of his father. I highly recommend this book.
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