Paul Grondahl Book Talk: Andy Rooney

Award-winning journalist and biographer Paul Grondahl visits to discuss his new biography of Albany native Andy Rooney, the popular commentator on 60 Minutes, and trace the arc of a true American original.

In Andy Rooney: A Lucky Life, Grondahl details how a smart-aleck Albany boy and academic failure at Albany Academy came of age as a Stars and Stripes reporter during World War II, transforming himself into the nation’s most popular commentator. Each Sunday evening, 20 million viewers waited until the end of 60 Minutes to hear “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney” and the beloved curmudgeon’s cranky musings.

Peter Osnos, founder of PublicAffairs Books and Rooney’s editor, called Grondahl’s book “the biography Andy Rooney deserved. A great read.”

Grondahl will pepper his talk with Rooney witticisms and everyman sensibility, present rare photographs, and offer revelations never made public before.

Paul Grondahl is the Opalka-endowed director of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany, a Times Union columnist, and author of several biographies, including biographies of Erastus Corning II and Theodore Roosevelt.

This event is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow immediately after the program. Books will not be available for sale at the event, so attendees who would like a copy signed are encouraged to purchase one in advance. Please consider shopping locally at Lake Bound Bookstore. To order a copy, call 518-712-5002. Please allow five business days for your order to arrive.

Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.