A Life in Questions

By: Jeremy Paxman

The witty, incisive and frank memoirs from the legend of Newsnight and long-standing quiz master of University Challenge. Filled with views, opinions and stories from 4 decades in front of the camera.

‘Bursting with good things’ Daily Telegraph

During 25 years as BBC Newsnight’s supreme inquisitor, Jeremy Paxman proved himself as the master of the political intervview. From John Major to Theresa May and Tony Blair to Ed Miliband, he has them quaking in their boots. But it wasn’t just politicians. Paxman’s interviews with Dizzee Rascal, David Bowie, Russell Brand and Vivienne Westwood are legendary. He discussed belief with religious leaders and philosophers, economics with CEOs and bankers, books with writers, and art and theatre with artists. After 23 years on University Challenge, Paxman is also the longest-serving active quizmaster on British television.

In A Life in Questions, the tables are turned: the quizmaster answers our burning questions, telling terrifying stories and laughing at much of the silliness in the world. These are the long-awaited memoirs of the greatest political interviewer of our time.

Critic reviews

‘[Paxman] records his childhood and the highs and lows of his subsequent career with a sharp eye, an acerbic wit and a lingering trace of melancholy.’ Daily Mail

‘Funny, sad and revealing’ David Aaronovitch, The Times

‘Entertaining’, Books of the Year, Observer

‘[A] trenchant memoir’ Daily Mail

‘Eye-opening … [an] entertaining and anecdote-rich book’ Daily Express

‘Revealing memoir’ Observer

‘Gripping’ Literary Review

Praise for Jeremy Paxman:

‘Intelligent, well-written, informative and funny … A book to chew on, dip into, quote from and exploit in arguments’ Andrew Marr, Observer

‘He writes with wit and penetration, and every page of Empire can be read with relaxed pleasure’ Spectator

‘Paxman is witty, incisive, acerbic and opinionated . . . In short, he carries the whole thing off with panache bordering on effrontery’ Sunday Times

‘A very engaging account … with a good sprinkling of jokes, funny nicknames and sexual references. Paxman makes some very sharp points and writes well’ Guardian

‘Bursting with good things’ Daily Telegraph

Paxman

I’m a Paxman fan. He has a lovely voice and on the BBC program NewsNight he was galvanizing. In this book, not so much. There are occasionally flashes of Paxman’s humor but few and far between. He’s known as a dogged, insightful bulldog of a BBC interviewer/presenter. Here again, not so much, Of course, he wrote the book so he couldn’t be much of a bulldog about his own writing. I grew to like the book - not love it as I’d hoped, but like it. Now that he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and finds it difficult, if not impossible, to use a computer his writing days may be over. I hope not. I’d give him another chance.

Interesting, informative, entertaining

This book became more interesting as it went along. The early part about childhood and schooling could have been the reminiscences of almost anyone growing up in reasonable comfort in England in the 50s and 60s, difficult home life notwithstanding. But Paxman escapes the confines of home and school, pulls out all stops to get to Cambridge, and thereafter does interesting jobs in interesting places and, along the way, collects a lot of stories well worth re-telling. He is an astute observer and a gifted writer, always to the point and uncompromising, whether recounting an anecdote or expressing an opinion. We are treated to interesting glimpses into life behind the scenes at the BBC and University Challenge, as well as reports of his brushes with high-fliers and the various controversies his no-nonsense interviewing style has provoked. The questions referenced in the title are questions he has asked himself as he has progressed through life and career, and questions sent to him by viewers. His answers are always thoughtful, sometimes surprising, and sometimes amusing. The narration is pure Paxman: like the man himself, it is intelligent, elegant and straight-forward. No other narrator could have done it justice. Yes, Mr Paxman, it’s been very useful. I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you.