Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself

Following his 11-year run on TV's M*A*S*H, Alda has continually transformed himself professionally through a diverse array of successful projects. Yet his status as America's quintessential nice guy still follows him at every turn, rendering Alda a hot ticket for college commencement addresses and other high-profile events. With his characteristic modesty and charm, Alda reflects on his public words to find introspective insights about the important questions of life. Early in the recording, his interjections of new parenthetical comments as he recites the texts of older speeches is slightly choppy. Yet when he tackles meatier questions and more sober situations, especially his role as a eulogist at the funerals for close friends Ossie Davis and Peter Jennings, Alda hits his stride by baring his soul instead of shooting from the hip. Alda's phenomenal gift as a storyteller shines through, even when the style in which he organizes his material may not perfectly suit the audio format. Simultaneous release with the Random House hardcover (Reviews, June 25).