In this New York Times bestselling must-read, executive producer and host of Dirty Jobs Mike Rowe presents a delightfully entertaining, seriously fascinating collection of his favorite episodes from America’s #1 short-form podcast, The Way I Heard It, along with a host of personal memories, ruminations, and insights that will leave you captivated. The Way I Heard It presents thirty-five … Way I Heard It presents thirty-five mysteries “for the curious mind with a short attention span.” Every one is a trueish tale about someone you know, filled with facts that you don’t. Movie stars, presidents, bloody do-gooders, and villains–they’re all here, waiting to shake your hand, hoping you’ll remember them. Delivered with Mike’s signature blend of charm, wit, and ingenuity, their stories are part of a larger mosaic–a memoir full of surprising revelations, sharp observations, and intimate, behind-the-scenes moments drawn from Mike’s own remarkable life and career.
more
Honestly wish I had the ability to rate more than 5 Stars!
The Way I Heard It is a collection of short stories full of Mike Rowe’s unique way of coining a phrase and telling a tale. Tipping his hat to Paul Harvey’s “…the rest of the story”, Mike Rowe tells little mysteries of celebrities that will leave you guessing who is it right till the very end! Those on his mystery guest list ties into one of Mike’s own life adventures. His wit and humor as well as his compassion and love of life and his family make this a must read book of the year…at least in my humble opinion. Loved everything about this book, and highly recommend!
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **
Wonderfully entertaining. Informative but also humorous and heart-warming at the same time. Each vignette is a perfect bite-sized story allowing the reader to stop and savor each tale, or devour them all in one sitting.
I limited myself to reading one story per day to make this book last longer because I had a feeling it would be tremendous and I was not off the mark on that assumption! What a wonderful, easy way Mike Rowe has of telling a story and keeping you guessing and enthralled. I loved not knowing who was the subject of the short tales he shared until the very end … some I guessed, many I did not … all were terrific! This is a definite must read and must share book.
This is a collection of stories shared by Mike Rowe. I listened to the audio book to enjoy his charm and humor. He did a fabulous job writing each story in order to leave you guessing whose story he is telling. Rowe weaves tales of his own life throughout the book.
I will be honest, I chose the audio version because I love listening to Mike Rowe’s voice. I find it to be calming, and listening to the book was relaxing while I spent my days writing at a fever’s pitch for work. I recommend this book. It would be perfect to listen to while commuting or on a road trip.
If you’ve soaked in Mike’s words on social media, you’re craving will quicky be dashed in these pages as the words are turned for the masses at a regular Joe level but then there in lies the title eh?
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
This is a “ridiculously entertaining, seriously fascinating collection” of Mike Rowe’s favorite episodes from his podcast. For a brief time, I listened to the podcast at work, but found myself drifting off and neglecting work to concentrate on the story being told. This collection of 35 stories will engage you completely. Each is told in two parts. The first tells the story of the character whose identity is hidden until the end, so don’t peek ahead. The second part is Mike Rowe, the storyteller, weaving the story around to some facet of his life. He’s an interesting guy with a great sense of humor, and a conversational tone to his writing. Kind of like Paul Harvey.
As I’ve seen other reviewers mention, the entire time you are reading, it is Mike Rowe’s voice in your head! This is a great collection of facts and insights that will be hard to put down. Delightful and uplifting from start to finish, this one is so worth your time!
Culled from the podcast of the same name, The Way I Heard It is a collection of 36 amazing backstories followed by a related incident from the life of America’s (or at least the Discovery Channel’s) favorite narrator and dirtiest hard-working man, Mike Rowe. Some of the people in the tales are famous or notorious, but a good many are unknown, even though their work, such as a landmark East Coast bridge, or an enormous West Coast estate, stand as a testament to their genius and vision.
Rowe follows each story with a related snippet from his life. After reporting how a humble hand tool became a blockbuster found in nearly every home and workplace, he describes his first night on the 3 – 6 am. graveyard shift of QVC, which in 1990 was virtually unknown and having trouble recruiting hosts. After unsuccessfully hawking a number of products without a script or direction, Mike finally looked into the camera and said, “Folks, I’m gonna be honest with you: I have no idea what this thing is or how it works. Frankly, I’m skeptical about the healing power of infrared light. But if you have one of these objects, call the 800 number on the screen. Ask for Marty. He’ll put you on the air. Maybe you can tell me if it actually works.” And with that, the tradition of having QVC customers call in to talk was born. Rowe is modest about the achievement: “The viewers had taken pity on me and began to do my job for me. Sales picked up. Marty woke up. Like I said, things got fun.”
As an introduction to his onetime hobby of singing in barbershop quartets, he relates the story of a Jewish Army corporal in the Ardennes Forest, just a few moonlit hours before the Battle of the Bulge, who rigged a speaker on a makeshift pole to bombard Nazis with energetic tunes sung by famous Jewish vocalists. He describes the nasty height battles fought by rival architects in one of America’s largest cities as a delicate introduction to one of Rowe’s most self-effacing Dirty Jobs episodes, when Rowe collected semen from a prize-winning quarter horse named Paid by Chic. (His equine-crazy mother was thrilled for him.) And he broaches his father’s love for chopping wood as a method of parent-child communication through the story of a strict father who never spoke to his rebellious son after the son chose a career path his father ridiculed. A father who disciplined his children with harsh words, but struggled to find the right ones for his son’s tombstone. (He ultimately chose the Greek inscription Kata ton daimona eaytoy: True to his own spirit.)
Mike Rowe has written a book much like him, a collection of down-to-earth stories that touch readers’ hearts with a variety of emotions. He recognizes the innate ability of every person to be humble, cocky, or indifferent; to stray far from their roots or stick around. To die behind bars as a convicted hit man while watching his son become a beloved fixture of Thursday nights, or to walk away from the job of a harsh Air Force master sergeant to become a famous TV star with a soft and gentle voice. At least, that’s the way I heard it.
Mike Rowe is goofy (in the best possible way) and charming and engaging and endearing – he is who he is and does and says what he wants, and that is what I’ve always loved about him and his shows. The book reads exactly the way I imagined it would – it is full of fun facts, odd tidbits of history and pop culture, and anecdotes that tug at the heartstrings in a genuine and moving way, while providing surprising bursts of insight, self-awareness, and humor. I loved the way he spun the perspective of the tales he told so that it was often not clear until the very end (if at all!) who the story was actually about – it was a clever way to tell tales and meant that I was engaged throughout even if I was already familiar with the story being told. It was an entertaining and quick read and one I would definitely recommend!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
Mike Rowe is among one of the greatest story tellers of our time. I couldn’t put this book down! They way he tells the stories grabbed my attention from the beginning. This book is a must read for anyone who loves Paul Harvey type stories, that teach you something and stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.
I normally don’t stray from my comfort zone of romance novels. However, I’ve seen Mike Rowe on one of my favorite shows a number of times, and he always comes across as deeply intelligent and witty. I’m familiar with his work on Dirty Jobs and his mikeroweWORKS foundation, so I requested this book, thinking it would be interesting at best. I’m so freaking glad I did venture from my comfort zone…because this is one of the best books I’ve read. And I read a LOT.
Reminiscent of Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story”, Mr. Rowe shares vignettes of people and events, followed by his life experiences which he connects to each story. I was hooked from the first vignette; I would never have guessed who it was about. I was truly shocked! (Don’t want to ruin the surprise for anyone.). And it went on like that for me – hugely entertaining short stories, and the reveal of who or what the story is actually about. One or two I guessed correctly, such as Charlie the aspiring musician, but most were surprises.
Just as much, and in some cases more so, I loved Mike’s personal stories. I had no idea of all the jobs and shows he was a part of, such as QVC. I had fun hearing about the jobs, plus also about Freddy the dog, Sandy his girlfriend (Mike’s, not the dog), the pig, the barbershop quartet, his teachers and friends. My favorite tales, however, centered around his parents. They sound like the best parents ever…well, except for my own! Mike really knows how to tell a story; I snorted laughter throughout the whole book, but he also brought me to the verge of tears. Here’s hoping Mike shares many more stories with us. I am in awe.
I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
By far one of the best books I’ve read so far this year (and I’ve read a lot of books already this year)! Part history (the fascinating kind, not the boring I need to learn it for a class kind), part memoir, always fascinating (a lot of those aha moments) and frequently funny (like laugh out loud kind of funny)! Inspired in part by his fascination of and admiration for the legendary Paul Harvey, this book is a collection of short “stories”, none of which seemed to have anything in particular in common with ones another but then are inexplicably and expertly woven together in the most amazing way On several occasions Mike instructs us to “Google it, I’ll wait” and Google it you will. Including his final page instruction to go to “Google it.” That “it” is a video clip that will leave you laughing, make you want to binge watch every episode of Dirty Jobs, pull up old QVC clips, check out Evening Magazine, and wish the book wasn’t ending! Maybe there’ll be a sequel…