Off the Record: A Reporter Unveils the Celebrity Worlds of Hollywood, Hip-hop, and Sports

by Allison Samuels

Off the Record is an insightful, funny, and oftentimes moving behind-the-scenes look at the boldfaced names of Hollywood, hip-hop, and sports. Featuring celebrities such as Whitney Houston, Eddie Murphy, Lil' Kim, Tyra Banks, Alex Rodriguez, Shaquille O'Neal, Whoopi Goldberg, Snoop Dogg, and Denzel Washington, Off the Record goes beyond the red carpet with stories that capture who they are as people—sometimes vulnerable, sometimes inspiring, but always human. Moved by a Barbara Walters interview that she saw as a young girl, Allison Samuels began her journalism career as a college student, with an impromptu interview of Francis Ford Coppola while visiting the film set for Gardens of Stone. She has since evolved into an esteemed reporter at one of the top news magazines in the world. Samuels's stories have received national attention, including her cover feature on Kobe Bryant's alleged rape charges, and a dialogue-provoking cover story on the state of black women in America that featured then rising international superstar Beyoncé and controversial former daytime talkshow host Star Jones.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Allison Samuels is an award-winning Newsweek correspondent who has covered sports and entertainment since 1996. Samuels is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the Big Sisters of America, and the UCLA Black Studies Department board of directors. She lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[steffie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got this as a birthday gift. Whatevs.

This book is annoyingly full of errors. Sorry, but I find it hard to believe that a book has gotten this far in the publishing process despite several brazen, glaring mistakes. Seriously. How embarrassing is it that a "celebrated" Newsweek reporter doesn't have a copy editor or a fact checker?

Case in point: I highly doubt Eddie Murphy regretted making "Beverly Hills Cop IV" while being interviewed by the author just before "The Nutty Professor" came out. You know why I doubt this? BECAUSE THERE WAS NO "BEVERLY HILLS COP IV."

Another irritating error was her constant misspelling of Bill Cosby's daughter's name. Despite claiming that she "knew" Cosby's daughter in college, she spells the damn woman's name wrong over and over again. Granted, it's an odd spelling, but if she knew the woman, she should know this. Did no one check this???

Also, I just don't care for journalists who talk about how they help their subjects win Oscars. Even if this did happen, and even if Denzel did hand you his Oscar and tell you that you were part of the reason he won, shut up about it already.

[Demetria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wrote a review of this book for my j-o-b, so I won't reprint that here. I'll just say that this was a quick, (mostly) entertaining read about "off the record" moments with black celebrities...with A-Rod thrown in for good measure. The funniest moments are when Samuels talks about Snoop. He seems to be quite the character. There might be a few angry celebs out there who won't appreciate a detail or two in this, but for the most part there's nothing particularly salacious or mean. It's a good subway ride read.

[Leticia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a good, quick read about Newsweek entertainment reporter Alison Samuels experience covering the black celebrity elite over the past decade. By no means a "tell-all" but interesting tidbits nonetheless.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of essays by a writer from Newsweek. I found some interesting, but some were superficial and lacked insight. She seems to have an interesting life, but was promoting herself as much as the subject of her interviews.

[Tracee - LN · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. It was a decent, fast-paced read. It's tidbits of the author's time with black celebrities. It's not a tell-all, but it is still entertaining, nonetheless. I enjoyed the Snoop stories especially.