--- title: 8 New Books About Show Business description: From a biography of Paul Simon to Andrew Lloyd Webber's first memoir, these books are must-reads for entertainment fans. canonical: https://time.com/5243337/showbiz-books-2018/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-26T15:01:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:49:17.997Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 8 New Books That Dish the Dirt on Show Business og:description: From Paul Simon to Andrew Lloyd Webber, these books are must-reads for entertainment fans og:url: https://time.com/5243337/showbiz-books-2018/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 8 New Books That Dish the Dirt on Show Business twitter:description: From Paul Simon to Andrew Lloyd Webber, these books are must-reads for entertainment fans twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 8 New Books That Dish the Dirt on Show Business by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Apr 26, 2018 3:01 PM UTC by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Apr 26, 2018 3:01 PM UTC There’s no business like show business — at least according to these new entertainment-related books, all out the first half of this year. From insightful and emotional biographies of geniuses like Paul Simon and Robin Williams, to a first-time memoir from musical great Andrew Lloyd Webber, these eight new books cover the highs and lows of the world of showbiz, tackling topics as varied as gender parity in television and coping with drug addiction. ## [_Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250105951/?tag=timecom-20)  Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story by Chris Nashawaty. **By Chris Nashawaty** _Entertainment Weekly_ movie critic Chris Nashawaty provides fans with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of (and egos behind) _Caddyshack_, the 1980 anti-establishment romp starring Bill Murray, Michael O’Keefe and Chevy Chase. Nashawaty reveals how Harold Ramis and his team convinced studio executives to invest in the movie, as well as how a pesky gopher puppet somehow managed to save the day. Out April 28 ## [_All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0451498143/?tag=timecom-20)  All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of the Wire, by Jonathan Abrams. **By Jonathan Abrams** _All the Pieces Matter_ is the definitive behind-the-scenes story of HBO’s acclaimed crime drama _The Wire_, a show so influential it is used by universities as a teaching tool to explain topics including film theory, criminal justice and sociology. Jonathan Abrams’ compelling account of the powerful show is enhanced by interviews with the actors, writers, directors and others involved in its creation, from Idris Elba to David Simon. Out Feb. 13 ## [_Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/162779834X/?tag=timecom-20)  Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution, by Todd S. Purdum. **By Todd S. Purdum** Journalist Todd S. Purdum paints a revelatory portrait of the hugely talented songwriting pair Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II in this detailed and sharp biography. Purdum explores the pair’s groundbreaking success on Broadway (with a roster of musicals that includes [_Oklahoma!_](http://time.com/5168101/queen-prince-philip-oklahoma/), _South Pacific_ and _The King and I_), without shying away from their failures and flops. “When it came to the crunch, they delivered — time and time again,” he writes in the book’s prologue. “But the results often hid the enormous effort and emotional toll involved.” Out April 3 ## [_Just the Funny Parts: … And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking into the Hollywood Boys’ Club_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062473484/?tag=timecom-20)  Just the Funny Parts… And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking into the Hollywood Boys’ Club, by Nell Scovell. **By Nell Scovell** For more than three decades, [Nell Scovell](http://time.com/5203900/nell-scovell-women-comedy/) has worked on iconic TV shows like _The Simpsons, The Muppets_ and _Sabrina, the Teenage Witch_ (which she created and executive produced). Scovell was also the second woman to write for _Late Night with David Letterman_ and, following the [Letterman sex scandal of 2009](http://time.com/5203900/nell-scovell-women-comedy/), she gained attention for publicly calling out the lack of female writers on news shows. Now the writer, producer and director is back with another insight into the ‘boys’ club’ of late-night TV, from red carpet shenanigans to strange Stephen King encounters. Out March 20 ## [_Unmasked: A Memoir_ ](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062424203/?tag=timecom-20)  Unmasked: A Memoir, by Andrew Lloyd Webber. **By Andrew Lloyd Webber** The first autobiography of the composer, producer and brains behind some of our planet’s best-loved musicals, including _Jesus Christ Superstar_, _Cats_ and _Evita_, is a candid and humorous (and at times rather boastful) insight into the world of musical theater. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s _Unmasked_ is not his full life story; instead it covers the period between his childhood and the first performance of _The_ _Phantom of the Opera_ in 1986\. “I meant to cram my memoirs into one book but my verbosity got in the way so I drew a line at the opening of _Phantom_,” he writes. “It’s not a bad place to stop.” Out March 6 ## [_Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/006240508X/?tag=timecom-20)  **By Iris Apfel.** _Accidental Icon_ is an eclectic mix of musings and never-before-published photos of Iris Apfel, the legendary interior designer and fashion icon, who rose to fame in her eighties, calling herself the “world’s oldest living teenager.” Apfel, who in 2005 became the first living non-designer to have her clothing and accessories exhibited at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has written a personal, witty must-read for fashion lovers. Out April 23 ## [_Paul Simon: The Life_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501112120/?tag=timecom-20)  Paul Simon: The Life, by Robert Hilburn. **By Robert Hilburn** Music writer Robert Hilburn conducted more than 100 hours of conversation with the legendary songwriter Paul Simon to write this definitive biography. Hilburn also spoke to Simon’s first two wives (Peggy Harper and Carrie Fisher) for the book, as well as others close to him, in order to achieve a well-rounded picture of the artist behind hits like “The Sound of Silence” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The book explores Simon’s decision to leave _Simon and Garfunkel_ at the height of the duo’s success, as well as his struggles with drugs, fame, marriage and more. Out May 18 ## [_Robin_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1627794247/?tag=timecom-20)  **By Dave Itzkoff** _New York Times_ culture reporter Dave Itzkoff allows readers a rare intimate look at Robin Williams in this honest and emotional biography of the late entertainer. Itzkoff explores critical moments from Williams’ start in comedy to his Academy Award-winning performance in _Good Will Hunting_, while shining a light on his personal struggles with addiction and depression. With the help of more than one hundred original interviews with family, friends and colleagues, _Robin_ is a fresh look at a man loved by many but truly understood by few. As Itzkoff explains in his prologue, Williams was “like an illusionist, and his magic trick was making you see what he wanted you to see — the act and not the artist delivering it.” Out May 15 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5243337/showbiz-books-2018/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5243337/showbiz-books-2018/"},"headline":"8 New Books That Dish the Dirt on Show Business","datePublished":"2018-04-26T15:01:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:49:17.997Z","description":"From Paul Simon to Andrew Lloyd Webber, these books are must-reads for entertainment fans","url":"https://time.com/5243337/showbiz-books-2018/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5243337/showbiz-books-2018/","name":"8 New Books That Dish the Dirt on Show Business"}}]}] ```