The Big Brother Bible: 25 Years of America's Summertime Guilty Pleasure

by Brody Stuart-Verner

Here is your key to the Big Brother house. Step inside and uncover the hidden secrets and untold stories of America’s summertime guilty pleasure. Based on unprecedented access, including stunning interviews with more than one hundred producers and contestants, the Big Brother Bible offers a rare glimpse into the evolution of a pioneering social experiment that has captivated viewers with its drama, strategy and twists, for nearly a quarter century.

200 pages

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Douglas Campbell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book and its author are terrible. He made fun of a BB fan for getting drugged at a bar and her trauma. I want my $25 back and for the author to never tweet again.



There was some great history here about the start of the show, but there were also a lot of incorrect information that would have easily been spotted with more editing, like Swaggy and Bayleigh’s season being in 2016, not 2020.
There were also huge gaps in information that I wish were filled with perhaps, the start and effects of the live feeds and fan culture.
There was also information that didn’t belong in certain chapters it was placed, but rather shoved in at the end and that makes this “book” feel like a clunky school project.
Overall, the book was informative about the BEGINNINGS of BB, but I think it should have a different title. Big Brother Bible pertains to it containing ALL the information or history of the show, and this book lacks a significant portion of the last 20 years. As a superfan, I feel the author could have spent longer on the project to make it more substantial before release.
I do respect the self-publish and give credit to the author for making this available to BB fans everywhere.

[Nicolette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did the social media blitz lead you here, too??

The early history was unknown to me, but I wish there was more about the later years, despite the criticism. Editing was very very much needed, but I can’t hate on someone’s passion project.

[sj · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a gift from a friend because I love the show but this seemed like a middle school project. Why was the editing and grammar so poor? I admire people who self publish but it seemed like the author doesn't know some basic paragraph/sentence structure things. On top of that the journalistic integrity is poor and many things go on to be said with certainty that are unverified. What pushed me to review this now after having read it a couple weeks ago is the author is a misogynist and truly hateful human. I followed him on social media when the book came out and he's gotten even more unhinged in recent days. He spews misogyny and constantly insults contestants looks for engagement (or because he's insecure himself? No use in speculating). The saddest part is this is a super cool idea for a book but I don't support folks that want to tear down others in order to lift themselves up. He truly represents the horrible side of this fan base that contributes to many former contestants talking about their struggles with their mental health.

[Raelee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book reads at a third grade level. The author is racist and sexists and bullies past house guests online and his targets are always women and POC. He’s a horrible person who is dying for people to buy his book so he afford to get his KKK uniform dry cleaned.

[Manda Marigold · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in anticipation of the Big Brother 26 premiere tomorrow. Big Brother has been one of my favorite summertime TV shows for a while now. The first couple chapters of the book are quite interesting as they explain how the global phenomenon known as Big Brother came to be. The book then discusses how Julie Chen became the host of the show. The book explains major format changes made from season one to season two. This book was satisfactory There was too much content on the production/ format and not enough on gameplay by the contestants. There is slight talk of contestants, but not until 40ish percent. There are status updates for contestants in the back of the book.

[Lincoln Kupchak · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has some interesting stuff about the start of the show and spends some time on seasons 1 and 2...but for a book that is about "25 years" of the show they really pretty much skip over the following seasons with very little info on it.. Book needed to be longer and deal with more of the stuff that happened in the later seasons... Doesn't really go into the live feeds very much or the controversies (other than the racism in season 15).. also completely ignores OTT... as potential but needed a lot more work and content.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an avid Big Brother fan I was excited to read this, but it disappointed me. The beginning talking about the producers was so boring. Then, the author basically told us stuff we already know. There was only like one or two surprising things. It was a quick read before the new season, but not something you should waste your time on.

[Marilyn Sutherland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it and it was good I’d probably rate higher if it went into the more recent years as well as the beginning. I did learn a lot and good but wish there had been more. Maybe someone will do a part 2 😊😊😊

[Lightupvirginmary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on holiday and enjoyed it, especially the beginning part about the format not translating from Europe to the Uk and also the behind the scenes machinations of 9/11. I enjoyed the houseguest scuttlebutt as well. I found it well written and interesting.

[Maddie Cleer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read to give insight to some big brother history

[Krista Piek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good background info on the show if you are a fan but not quite what I expected.

[Zkyz Byon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juicy details. Interesting enlightenment.

[Elizabeth Swindell · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10: loved it because of all of the big brother data but rough editing and not organized very well; i wish it would've included more of the seasons as opposed to a heavy focus on the first 5 seasons