Ted Turner: It Ain't As Easy as It Looks: A Biography [Paperback]

Porter Bibb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

Ted Turner, America’s maverick multi-billionaire, is best known as the creator of CNN who revolutionized the news industry, married Jane Fonda, and then became the largest shareholder in media powerhouse Time-Warner. What makes him tick? And, perhaps more important, what drives the uncanny business sense that has made him so spectacularly successful? Porter Bibb’s critically-acclaimed biography delves deep to analyze Ted Turner’s amazing transformation from the upstart known as "The Mouth of the South" to the man Bibb calls "the first honest billionaire in history."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Porter Bibb is a former White House correspondent for Newsweek and a documentary filmmaker. He is currently a managing director of an investment banking firm in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Johnson Books; Updated edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155566203X
• ISBN-13: 978-1555662035
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,135,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impeccably researched, an amazing man, June 26, 2002

By 

Julia L. Wilkinson (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ted Turner: It Ain't As Easy as It Looks: A Biography (Paperback)

Ted Turner's life story would make a better movie than many of the old classics he bought the rights to broadcast on his stations. From allegedly giving a sales pitch in the nude (among other things), to wild speeches in hotel lobbies, winning an incredible number of sailing races, and even his own "Alistair Cooke" style film intros, this guy is full of antics.

I was impressed by the depth of research Mr. Bibb brought to this book. I wish their was a little more of Ted quoted in the book, but this is an excellent amount of info on the man's life.

- Julia Wilkinson, author, "My Life at AOL"

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The very best telling of Ted Turner's unbelievable lifestory, September 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ted Turner: It Ain't As Easy as It Looks: A Biography (Paperback)

This long, intricately constructed, infinitely documented biography reads like a film script, which is the only appropriate format for a biography of this larger than life subject. Ted Turner has led a life only a Hollywood screenwriter could concoct, but Porter Bibb has packed it all between two covers.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Turner is a mad genius. Go Ted!, July 30, 2003

By 

David Gurgel (Roseland, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ted Turner: It Ain't As Easy as It Looks: A Biography (Paperback)

There is hardly a more colorful person in the history of twentieth century media than Ted Turner. He is mad, visionary, obsessed, gutsy, bi-polar, swash-buckling, touching and very likeable. Ted's CCN inspired me to push ahead with my own small technology company. After touring the early CNN headquarters in Atlanta, I brought back colorful CNN souvenir caps for my staff; and we wore them for a time in our office whenever we brain-stormed. This is a great and detailed account of Ted's adult years from family billboard company executive to AOL Time Warner vice chairman.

You'll rout for this multi-billionaire after reading the book.