Down and Out in Paradise, The Life of Anthony Bourdain

DOWN AND OUT IN PARADISE, THE LIFE OF ANTHONY BOURDAIN by Charles Leerhsen is well read by Vikas Adam. It’s a harrowing but always interesting backstory to the celebrity chef whose impact on culture was worldwide due to his years on the road in three series, talking food and impressions of those he met. Bourdain was an enigma to many, especially after his suicide, foretold earlier in his life at points when his “dark side” emerged. His best friends were stunned that he would hang himself over a woman who proved impossible to please or control. Leerhsen spent many hours interviewing associates and acquaintances in order to unravel the mystery, and criticizes the CNN film Roadrunner for staying on script and not examining what was his ever ambitious personality—to live fast and die young. A narcissist who hated his own life and could blame his crew and handlers for not getting things just right, Bourdain nonetheless had a sense of obligation and this book explores where his gifts lay and where they didn’t. It attempts to turn the mystique inside out, and achieves this, if not to the extent that Kitchen Confidential created it. Recommended for anyone wanting to understand the dual nature of the human psyche.