Reading this a couple of weeks before the 40th anniversary show was completely worth the time. ( )

Mandatory for any fan of the show.
But also for anyone wondering what it feels like to be part of an innovative team.
I can’t grasp the fact that this show ran for so long, with so many technical and human challenges every week.
( )

This is the second oral history I've read, the first being the Daily Show: An Oral History which came out in 2016, so quite a bit after 'Live From New York'. Different authors, similar format - are these oral history books people are putting out connecting in any way or are people just aping style? I think the Daily Show was put together a bit better, but since it's all interviews they probably just had better material to work with.

This book is prime time fluff, a diet soda of interviews and anecdotes. It was great. I do wish they had cut it off at 1995 (published in 2002) because the perspectives of performers (successful after their run or not) differed greatly from the perspective of performers currently on the show during their interview. It would also allow a second book to be published (in 2022?) covering 1995-2015 which would be really neat since that is more of my SNL history. (yes, I know they updated this book in 2015ish to cover new years, but that's not the copy I have and it will still suffer from the 'currently on the show' atmosphere that dulls reflection). ( )

The book is a series of interviews with cast members, writers, producers, hosts and anyone who had anything to do with the show. It’s written chronologically so you get a good idea how the show progresses over time. The interviews are interspersed with commentary from the authors who provide some good hindsight and fill in some blanks. The best part about the book was reading the different perspectives and experiences from everyone interviewed which paint a pretty honest story of SNL. ( )

I like this show, and thought this book could be interesting. Specially to learn more about the phenomenon and people involved in this, with me being non-American.

But the book didn't grab me. It was a messy read, with interviews instead of clear writing and presentation. I tried to read from the very beginning and jump to the era I'm most familiar with but nah. I gave it up. ( )