This is a skinny little book consisting entirely of quotations from other people about Gene Siskel, Roger Ebert, or (most commonly) the both of them. It begins by describing their newspaper rivalry, then their show’s tentative beginnings and subsequent history. Siskel’s illness and death are considered, as is Ebert’s cancer.
This is nicely done, as Schollmeyer’s got a good sense of how to assemble a story from what seem to be interview responses. It’s not really a history of the show, but more a portrait of the relationship, and how that affected the show.
Be sure to read the footnotes.
This review was originally published on LibraryThing.