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The best-selling memoir helped put Halperns fledgling HarperCollins imprint, Ecco, on the map.
[Bourdain alsowrote two crime novelsin the 90s.]
The imprint will end in the wake ofBourdains death last nightafter its slated books are published.
He was a line cook and he had his run at drugs, but he was a real writer.
His sentences were always unpredictable.
It was like Coloratura.
Thats probably what made him so successful in every medium.And thats rare.
But there was no arrogance, no sense of privilege.
So I would always just go to the bar and have a beer and wait for him.
He was adamant about acknowledging the people who can be invisible in a restaurant.
He was very easy to work with.
Yes, I do.
He was never somebody that censored himself.
How did Anthony Bourdain Books come about?Tony was always reading and not food books.
Tony was instrumental, among other people, including Obama, in getting Jason out of prison.
Did you ever think of Tony as a journalist?No.
I thinkMedium RawandKitchen Confidentialare iconic books in the genre of memoir.
You trust him because he doesnt pull any punches.
Then you have the good writing.
Hes funny, hes honest, hes unpredictable.
And he gives over so much information even when youre not aware youre taking it in.
You feel like youve lived his life in some way.
Were drowning in celebrity chefs and food writers these days.
What made him unique?Well, hes the best writer of them.
And Tony would always say he never really was a chef.
He was one speed, forward, take no prisoners.
You cross that line and you were the enemy.
But he was like that with everything.
He thought long and hard about positions that he took and then he defended them relentlessly.
Is there anything about his personality that would surprise fans of his books and shows?One thing.
Every time I met him I had the same reaction: how shy he was.
Thats the word that always came to my mind.
And therefore very winning, you know.
He never held forth.
I know hes been working on them and I know that he had a bunch of them last summer.
I think that it was going to be much more personal.
But I havent seen anything and Im guessing Ill hear from his agent at some point.
I hope theres enough for at least a small book.
Arecent profilementioned that they would tackle loneliness.
Was there any intimation that he was prone to depression?
Did you see this coming?No, none of it.
Im sure therell be more information coming out, but I cant imagine what happened.
He loved his daughter, he was at the top of his career, and people loved him.
Ive never heard one person say anything negative about Tony Bourdain.
I hope its not anything terrible.
