Ladies Who Punch - by Ramin Setoodeh (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards Finalist, Best Non-Fiction Book

The gossipy real-life soap opera behind a serious show.

When Barbara Walters launched The View, network executives told her that hosting it would tarnish her reputation. Instead, within ten years, she'd revolutionized morning TV and made household names of her co-hosts: Joy Behar, Star Jones, Meredith Vieira and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. But the daily chatfest didn't just comment on the news. It became the news. And the headlines barely scratched the surface.

Based on unprecedented access, including stunning interviews with nearly every host, award-winning journalist Ramin Setoodeh takes you backstage where the stars really spoke their minds. Here's the full story of how Star, then Rosie, then Whoopi tried to take over the show, while Barbara struggled to maintain control of it all, a modern-day Lear with her media-savvy daughters. You'll read about how so many co-hosts had a tough time fitting in, suffered humiliations at the table, then pushed themselves away, feeling betrayed--one nearly quitting during a commercial. Meanwhile, the director was being driven insane, especially by Rosie.

Setoodeh uncovers the truth about Star's weight loss and wedding madness. Rosie's feud with Trump. Whoopi's toxic relationship with Rosie. Barbara's difficulty stepping away. Plus, all the unseen hugs, snubs, tears--and one dead rodent.

Ladies Who Punch shows why The View can be mimicked and mocked, but it can never be matched.

Review Quotes

"Ladies Who Punch, Ramin Setoodeh's tell-all about The View, is teeming with the kind of gossipy revelations you'll want to tell your friends after you're done. Escape the daily responsibilities by diving into this juicy read about the history of the iconic talk show." -O: The Oprah magazine, "Best Books for Moms"

"It's already stirring up so much drama I'm considering asking it to be a New York housewife next season... This book is hot." -Andy Cohen

"Juicy and revealing." -Orlando Sentinel

"A bombshell." -Inside Edition

"This book is very juicy." -Page Six TV

"Talk about a tell-all! It's full of juicy inside information." -US Weekly

"A lot of juicy stuff in here." -CNN New Day

"The hottest book on the market." -E! News Daily Pop

"This book's blowing peoples' minds." -ET

"It's one of the best page turners I've ever read." -Jillian Barberie

"A veritable Spill-the-Tea Party. With interviews from nearly everyone involved in the 22-year-old series, including a gloriously candid Rosie O'Donnell, it is dishy in the way entertainment reporting frankly never is anymore. Come for the stories of cattiness, All About Eve machinations, and behind-the-scenes blow-ups, but stay for the sharp distillation of why this talk show completely changed television as we know it. The View is responsible for the very conflagration of news and opinion that today defines media and gives us all us three to five rage strokes per week." -Daily Beast

"And you thought the The View could get crazy on-screen (Joy Behar and Meghan McCain, we're looking at you). This pull-back-the-curtain story of almost two decades of the groundbreaking talk show delivers. This is everything a behind-the-scenes book should be--dishy, surprising, and written with the unprecedented help of those who lived it." -Booklist

"Terrifically fun to read. Setoodeh has been reporting on the show for years, and he knows everyone. The book is studded with juicy little scoops, including firing stories, backstage drama (wait for the story about Walters, Jenny McCarthy, and the tampon), and details about Star Jones' freebie-laden wedding." -Slate

"By comparison, Trump's White House is far more functional." -Toronto Star

"With a random array of hosts and plenty of drama to go around, Setoodeh manages to peel back the composed facade of what viewers see on their screens in order to focus on raw feelings and teetering emotions of those closely involved with "The View." ''Ladies Who Punch" is an exciting read that proves there's always a little soap opera even if a show presents itself as hard news." -Associated Press

"Jenny McCarthy reached out to Ramin to tell him the book is 'fair and honest.' But when you write a book like this, not everyone's going to love it, but with all the juicy info, he's got a bestseller on his hands for sure." -Daily Mail TV