cover image TO OPRAH WITH LOVE: A Tribute

TO OPRAH WITH LOVE: A Tribute

Paul Natkin, . . New Millennium, $29.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-1-893224-63-6

In its nearly 20 years on the air, the Oprah Winfrey Show has featured guests such as Michael J. Fox, Cher, Cindy Crawford and Esther Williams. This book assembles a dizzying array of images depicting Oprah with these guests and a host of others. It's a curious collection, with no captions or explanations of why Natkin and Green have decided to publish these photographs now, while the show is still going strong. The poor quality or unflattering photographs portray, among other images, Oprah standing proudly among her audience, microphone in hand; Oprah hanging on the words of Al Sharpton; Oprah laughing with Steve Martin; Oprah leaning over a piano with Michael Bolton; and Oprah playing the guitar with Dolly Parton. Most shots were taken on the set, between 1986 and 1996 (the years Natkin and Green worked as Oprah's staff photographers). Such quotes as "All my life I have fought against prejudice and intolerance" (Harry S. Truman) and "joy delights in joy" (William Shakespeare) are the only accompaniment to these images (aside from brief commentary from Larry King and the photographers). While some fans may find it amusing to track Oprah's various self-transformations over the years, it's hard to imagine many snatching up this attempt at chronicling a few years in the life of a daytime talk show. (Nov.)