Ladies Who Punch is great fun. Its the kind of book that takes on pop culture in a smart way, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. The author, Ramin Setoodeh, is a journalist and a fan of The View and it comes through in the way the book is crafted and the details he shares with the reader.
As fan of The View myself, getting to revisit the history of the show I loved for years was a joy. Hearing how and why Barbara Walters started the show, and how it was cast was interesting and added so much to my understanding of the show itself. I also loved thinking back on major moments like Rosie O’Donnell’s take down of Donald Trump, and her fight with Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Not to mention Whoopi and her own dramatic moments. There is so much history from the show crammed into this book.
What impressed me most about this book is how Ladies Who Punch also is a commentary about women in entertainment. The View has been a staple of daytime TV for over 20 seasons and doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Setoodeh looks at how the lack of respect given to The View comes from a sexist media that covers the co-hosts and their “cat fights” as something less than the arguments we might see on CNN or MSNBC.
The main frame for the book is the 2016 election, not only because of what a shock it was and how incredibly transformative that moment was in America. But more because both Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump were recurring guests on The View and their stories are deeply rooted in the success of the show, just as the show’s success is connected to them. The use of this event as a catalyst to tell the story roots Ladies Who Punch in something more than just a behind the scenes look at a successful TV program, but rather cements it in the moment of American culture.
If you’re not a fan of The View this book might not be as resonant for you, though I think it is still a good book. But if you identify as a fan of the show, this book is a must read. It gets into the nitty gritty of famous moments and feuds and spotlights all the ladies you love to hate.
To hear more about this Ladies Who Punch from the author himself, check out Ramin Setoodeh on The Short Stacks.
- Hardcover: 336
- Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; April 2, 2019
- 4/5 stars
- Buy Ladies Who Punch Amazon or IndieBound
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