Thoughts on Anthony Bourdain

Some time ago, I reviewed a couple of books about Anthony Bourdain: World Travel that is written with Laurie Woolever, his long-time collaborator, and The Last Interview and Other Conversations. The other day it was eight years since Bourdain died. Bourdain was a person just like anyone else. He had dreams, aspirations, and guess what? He had a lot of other sides to him, good and bad. Just like everyone else. As Charles Leerhsen’s Down and Out in Paradise shows, Bourdain was a womens’ cause advocate while buying sex from women. He did TV about workers conditions while he could callously fire people on a whim. That book, by the way, is not 'authorised' but Leerhsen had access to Bourdain's laptop and phone, In other words, Leerhsen learned a lot about Bourdain's inner life. The book is partly extremely revealing and humanising, and partly feels like robbing someone's grave, but... Bourdain's dead. His family and friends are mostly alive. Leerhsen's book's either something you can read…