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Wisdom Of 'Mad Men' For Sale In 'Sterling's Gold'

Mad Men fans craving a fix until the fifth season starts can now look forward to more than late-night DVD reruns.

Roger Sterling may be one of the show's most charismatic and lovable characters. His memoir, once a book that existed only in the show's fictional universe, is now real enough to find in your Christmas stocking.

It's a collection of the character's most quotable quips, anecdotes and witticisms, mostly the creation of the show's writing team.

"I was surprised at how many there were," actor John Slattery tells Weekend All Things Considered host Guy Raz. Slatterly plays Sterling on the show.

"I mean, it's been four seasons -- and 150 pages of these things. All of them, really without the aid of context, are great lines."

The book first appeared in the show's fourth season, when Sterling was dictating his memoir to a secretary. Slattery says a lot of his character's behavior "would get most people thrown in jail.

"What's appealing," he adds, "is just when you think this guy is as rotten as they come, his humanity comes out. He doesn't just want to sleep with women -- he enjoys the company of women. He has a certain code of ethics, a certain loyalty, and he has conviction. It doesn't always come out in the most politic way."

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

NPR Staff