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Another Book about Bourdain

'Down and Out in Paradise' by author Charles Leerhsen is a damn good book about the late Anthony Bourdain. Some may have already read Tom Vitale's book on the same topic last year, but Vitale was a younger employee of Bourdain's during his CNN heyday. His was a close-up and deeply personal first-time author's approach.
This new book by Leerhsen is different and covers cradle to grave. Professionally written by a veteran journalist who did not know Bourdain. Full of fascinating detail largely unknown by the public.

The inset page immediately prior to the Table of Contents shows a profoundly unusual item: the final text exchange between Bourdain and Argento, apparently from the night he died.
Highly recommended.
I am done. The end

Posted by
2288 posts

Hmmm. Thanks for recommending. I've been hesitant to read any of the "tell all" books published since his death, thinking they would be exploitative and/or opportunistic.

Posted by
3217 posts

I actually read a book BY Bourdain, I think it was "Restaurant Confidential" and since then, we drastically reduced our restaurant meals, even before the pandemic. Kind of like reading about how the sausage is made.

Posted by
2288 posts

"Don't order fish on Mondays" still sticks with me 🤔

Posted by
606 posts

So I just received an email response from the author in question, Charles Leershen. I had recently contacted him to ask whether in his copious research, he'd ever come across any mention that Bourdain ever visited travel forums such as our Fodors, Rick Steves or Lonely Planet. Below is an excerpt, the part after he refused to send me nude photos of himself.

Thanks very much for your email. I'm so glad you liked the book and took the time to say so. No, I've never heard anything about Bourdain getting involved with those sites in any way. Although it's always possible that he did, I don't think he was a fan of travel guides and sites like those--which made it especially appalling when certain people put out a sort of (useless) travel guide under his name after his death.
Best regards,
Charles Leerhsen