Inside Elisabeth Hasselbeck's Firing from 'The View' ... and Alleged Meltdown Over Barbara Walters!

Elisabeth Hasselbeck is everywhere today, thanks to two different books sharing some behind-the-scenes intel from the set of "The View."

Hasselbeck, who was a cohost from 2003-2013, shares her side of the story in "Point of View" -- out today -- while "Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View" -- out next week -- contains more salacious dirt from the show's history. And we've got new info from both right here.

First, let's dig into Elisabeth's tales from the morning show's table, which she calls "a little more ... charged" than the one in her dining room. The "Survivor" star was brought on to be a more conservative voice on the panel, which would include Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Rosie O'Donnell at various points in her tenure.

"I stand beyond grateful to have been a part of a group of women who could holistically and wholeheartedly bare our souls and take on tough issues people were 'not supposed to talk about,'" wrote Hasselbeck. "Sadly, there were times too when not every opinion was respected and our discussion at the table sounded more like a catfight than a smart debate. I regret that in the thick of those moments we were sending women a message about how difficult it could sometimes be to have good, deep, disagreeing conversations.

"Politically outnumbered, I made it my goal to hold the torch for the 'other side' and outlast the backlash as long as I could endure," she added.

Hasselbeck didn't get the chance to see how long that would be, however, as her contract wasn't renewed in 2013. Looking back, Elisabeth said she knew the writing was on the wall.

"By March 2013, things had begun to feel unusual," she said, noting that there were a lot of guest hosts, including Brooke Shields and Maria Menounos stopping by. "It dawned on me: Brooke was not just guest hosting; she was applying for a job. Something was going on. Someone is going to be added to the table."

Though producers initially denied it, Elisabeth said she gave Menounos some advice. "Look, from what I can gather, I think they are replacing me," she allegedly told her. "Tell them your parents' story. Tell them our story. Don't hold back. Tell them who you are. Go get this thing."

Then, the axe fell. "Without emotion, without wasting a minute, they told me they were not renewing my contract," she said of a show producer and ABC exec showing up at her office. "They said the show would be going in a less political direction, and that I could leave that day or the next day or stay for the remainder of this current season."

"I could not breathe — literally, could not breathe. Gasping, I asked permission to get my inhaler," she recalled. "I was bent over — shock, asthma and betrayal all stealing my wind."

She said she then asked "Why?" and whether there was anything she could have "done differently" during her time on the show. "I just don't understand why. What did I do wrong?" she recalled asking. "I have come here and had babies and shared my heart. I have done my work, and I just don't understand. Why did you not tell me there was something I could have done better, so I could have done that?" She said her questions were met with blank stares.

Hasselbeck added that she was left "feeling a dose of betrayal and a whopper of confusion" over the news, but still ended up sharing kind words about Barbara, Whoopi and Sherri. She doesn't mention Rosie once in her book.

Some of the more volatile moments of her time on "The View" are described in much more detail in "Ladies Who Punch," however, including one time she allegedly almost quit after Walters' actions.

According to a new excerpt posted on Page Six, Hasselbeck stormed off set during a commercial break after Walters cut her off during a fight about the morning after pill in 2006. The book then reports on leaked audio from the set on that day.

On the recording, Hasselbeck is reportedly heard telling Joy Behar of Walters, "What the f--k! I don't even swear. She has me swearing. This woman is driving me nuts. I'm not going back. I can't do the show like this. She just reprimanded me, and she knew exactly what she was doing. Goodbye! I'm off. Read about that in the New York f--king Post!"

"I'm quitting," she allegedly said to executive producer Bill Geddie. "I don't need to be reprimanded on the air like that by this woman."

Of course, she stuck around for another seven years.

"Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View" will be released April 2, 2019. Hasselbeck's "Point of View," is out now.