Books with author Emily Maitlis

'A WONDERFULLY SANE BOOK FOR OUR UNHINGED TIMES' Simon Schama Pre-order the insightful, hilarious and engrossing memoir from one of our most eminent TV broadcasters, Newsnight's Emily Maitlis, as she takes you behind the scenes of the biggest news stories in recent years. ___________ The things that are said on camera are only part of the story. Behind every interview there is a backstory. How it came about. How it ended. The compromises that were made. The regrets, the rows, the deeply inappropriate comedy. Making news is an essential but imperfect art, and it rarely goes according to plan. I never expected to find myself wandering around the Maharani of Jaipur's bedroom with Bill Clinton or invited to the Miss USA beauty pageant by its owner, Donald Trump. I never expected to be thrown into a provincial Cuban jail, or to be drinking red wine at Steve Bannon's kitchen table or spend three hours in a lift with Alan Partridge. I certainly didn't expect the Dalai Lama to tell me the story of his most memorable poo. The beauty of television is its ability to simplify, but that's also its weakness: it can distil everything down to one snapshot, one soundbite. Then the news cycle moves on. Airhead is my step back from the white noise. Before and after the camera started rolling, this is what really happened. ___________ 'Revelatory, riveting and frequently hilarious. A joy from beginning to end' James O'Brien 'Emily has a style that would make you enjoy her report on the end of the world. Absolutely irresistible' Jeremy Vine 'I'm just very disappointed there's only one chapter about me' Piers Morgan

'[Emily] is so absolutely of the moment. Airhead is a compilation of her greatest hits . . . hilarious' Evening StandardWoman of the moment Emily Maitlis gives you a behind-the-scenes look at some of the biggest news stories and interviews of recent years. INCLUDING A NEW CHAPTER ON HER NEWSNIGHT INTERVIEW WITH PRINCE ANDREW__________'Deliciously funny . . . Irresistible' The Times In this no holds barred account of life in the seconds before, during and after going on air, Newsnight presenter, leading journalist, and queen of the side eye Emily Maitlis gives us the insider info on what we don't get to see on-screen. Giving us the inside scoop on her interviews with everyone from Emma Thompson to Russell Brand, and Donald Trump to Tony Blair, as well as covering news stories such as President Clinton's affairs, Boris Johnson's race to PM, Grenfell, #MeToo, and the Paris terror attacks. Airhead is a brilliant exposé of the moments that never make the news. 'Anyone who has spent this election campaign shouting at the TV needs a copy in their Christmas stocking. It's funny and subtly smart' GUARDIAN, BOOKS OF THE YEARDAILY MAIL BOOKS OF THE YEAR_____________Praise for Emily Maitlis:'We LOVE the Maitlis' Stylist 'She's just a mastermind' Dolly Alderton on The High Low'I think people are a bit in love with Emily Maitlis, she's a brilliant interviewer' Pandora Sykes on The High Low Praise for Airhead:'She is a superb writer. It is a sort of greatest hits compilation' Sunday Times'Excellent' Guardian'A wonderfully sane book for our unhinged times' Simon Schama'Fascinating' Mail on Sunday 'Smart, funny and brilliantly told' Elizabeth Day 'Revelatory, riveting and frequently hilarious. A joy from beginning to end' James O'Brien 'Absolutely irresistible' Jeremy Vine

It's thirty seconds to air. The interviewee has walked off in a huff. The next guest hasn't arrived. There's a wall of riot police behind me. The cameraman only speaks Hungarian and has cut my head out of the shot, but I don't know his word for "wide angle." Then comes the quiet. Utter silence in my head. We've just lost comms with the whole team back in London. I can choose to scream. Or to surrender to the moment. Then, a hand is waved at me as a visual cue. And I start talking.The things that are said on camera are only part of the story. Behind every interview there's more. How the story came about. How it ended. The compromises that were made. The regrets, the rows, the deeply inappropriate comedy. Making news is an essential but imperfect art. It rarely goes according to plan. Emily Maitlis never expected to find herself wandering around the Maharani of Jaipur's bedroom with Bill Clinton or get invited to the Miss USA beauty pageant by its owner, Donald Trump. She never expected to be thrown into a provincial Cuban jail, to drink red wine at Steve Bannon's kitchen table, or spend three hours in a lift with Alan Partridge. She certainly didn't expect the Dalai Lama to tell her the story of his most memorable poo. The beauty of television is its ability to simplify, but that's also its weakness: it can distill everything down to one snapshot, one soundbite. Then the news cycle moves on. Airhead is Maitlis' step back from the white noise. Before and after the camera started rolling, this is what really happened.