Press & Reviews

“An Amazon Best Book of October 2021: Fans of Anthony Bourdain’s shows will at last get what we have long desired: a behind-the-scenes view of life on the crew, traveling to faraway places, and working directly with Bourdain. Vitale was his director and producer for over a decade, and In the Weeds is the story of their years together, revealing just how tremendously complicated shooting the show really was and illustrating Bourdain’s love/hate relationship with “the TV machine.” Bourdain’s death affected Vitale deeply, but he doesn’t gloss over Bourdain’s unflattering moments, just as he says Bourdain himself “never shied away from…presenting himself in an unflattering light.” In the Weeds is a full immersion experience, rich in detail and dialogue that you can hear in your head. I can still vividly recall so many moments from the book; they run the gamut from wild and funny to scary and serious. This book is everything I hoped for, and more.”
— Amazon Editor’s Pick

“Tom Vitale’s In the Weeds digs deep into how Bourdain lived....Mr. Vitale tells the stories others will not....Part memoir, part eulogy, In the Weeds is rambly and scattershot, big-hearted and engaging, all the qualities that fans loved best about Bourdain.”
— The Wall Street Journal

“A memoir of incomparable travelogues snatched from the clutch of chaos….Vitale’s memoir of those years—and of the vacuum in his life following Bourdain’s suicide—is a fascinating insider’s account of the making of groundbreaking TV. It is also the most complete picture yet of Bourdain’s complex and conflicted character…. Vitale’s writing is seductively alive, pulsating with events and vividly rendered observations of people and exotic locales, hairbreadth escapes, and all the high-wire escapades, cultural revelations, and ethical questions that accompanied being Bourdain’s traveling companion…. Drawn from show footage, notebooks, logs, travel itineraries, e-mails, and old receipts, his book is thrilling, sobering, harrowing, and as entertainingly frenetic as the events described, a tale told by a survivor still trying to make sense of it all. Clearly, watching Bourdain’s shows was nothing like living them, as this high-flying memoir amply demonstrates.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred)


“This adventurous and candid account is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Bourdain’s work and an honest story about persisting in the wake of loss. It will resonate with many readers as a travel and entertainment memoir, exploration of grief, and tribute to a beloved figure.”
— Library Journal (starred review)

“Bourdain’s fans will find plenty to savor, think about and discuss. This is Vitale’s memoir, his singular account. Stones are lifted. Curtains are pushed back. An engaging narrative is woven. Vitale opens his heart and veins to create powerful, poignant, passionate prose. A page-turner, indeed.”
-Forbes

“Vitale’s arresting tales of life as chef-turned-media star Anthony Bourdain’s longtime director and producer offer a vivid look at a demanding, passionate, volatile man…. As he reflects on more than a decade of working with Bourdain… Vitale shares mesmerizing recollections of their travels… while probing the fascinating and frustrating facets of the chef’s larger-than-life personality…. With this exhilarating travelogue, he paints a complicated portrait, packed with vibrant details.”
— Publishers Weekly


“Accepting the impossibility of ever capturing the essence of such a brilliant, curious, darkly funny, loving, cruel, über-rebellious, wholly mercurial man, a shell-shocked Vitale still lays out an immersive narrative, rich with insight and detail, of their work together…. Vitale’s account might be as close to an authentic portrait of the late chef-traveler as readers will find.”
— Booklist