Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Host with the Most: Tales of a Tattooed Television Personality is a non-fiction autobiography written by Todd Newton. The author is an Emmy award-winning host who began following his passion when he was a child. Indeed, his first tale describes a classic scene where a plane-flying stunt delighted his fifth-grade classmates and sent his beleaguered teacher into paroxysms of anger. Newton loved interacting with an audience and converted his admiration for the St. Louis DJs he grew up with into a stint at being a DJ himself. To break into the field, he went the route of being an unpaid intern at a commercial station as well as taking the graveyard shift no one wanted at his college. Eventually, the unexpected and virtually unprecedented absence of a DJ one day meant that the intern, who had washed the station's van and did just about every odd job around the station, got to do a show of his own. Newton talks about the DJs who helped him hone his craft and were so inspirational for him. He also discusses how a summer stint hosting a tour of male strippers when he was seventeen introduced him to the "rush of adrenaline" he would experience each time he delivered his words through the sound system. And in those moments, his passion gained direction.

Todd Newton's non-fiction autobiography, The Host with the Most: Tales of a Tattooed Television Personality, is told through a series of memoirs about his life, his family, and the marvelous interaction he has had with those excited people who come up on the stage during a game show that he's hosting. His stories are delivered in the first person, and I couldn't shake the feeling that Newton was actually in the room sharing each memory with a smile and a gleam in his eye as he spoke. His writing voice speaks that directly to the reader, and his stories are memorable, authentic, and often had me smiling. The tale entitled, Services Rendered. Pay the Man is a marvelous recreation of his experience when, as a young DJ, he was sent to the grand opening of a live music venue along with a mentor, the classic SOUL 63 DJ, The Real Jr, and it has to be considered one of my favorites in the collection. Tattooed in Hell, an homage to the tattoo artists whose work adorns Newton's body, is a treasure trove of information about tattooing and tattoo devotees, and it includes a classic and hilarious account of the Sailor Jerry Girl tattoos and his awful experience with getting a tattoo on his ribs. I had a grand time reading this collection of memoirs, and by the time I had finished I felt as though I had been listening to the stories of an old friend; one whose conversation is honest, invigorating and brilliant. The Host with the Most: Tales of a Tattooed Television Personality is most highly recommended.