Ted Turner: Cable Television Tycoon (Makers of the Media) [Library Binding]

Jeremy Byman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Makers of the Media

A biography of the multimillionaire media pioneer, creator of the Cable News Network, champion yachtsman, and founder of environmental and humanitarian organizations.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-This biography lacks passion and enthusiasm. The superficial, dry text reads as if it were composed from a succession of newspaper and magazine articles. Turner's childhood, which included attendance at boarding and military schools, is chronicled as is a rocky relationship with an alcoholic abusive father. The years at Brown University (he did not graduate) illustrate his penchant for alcohol and women, a problem that would remain for years. Several unflattering anecdotes are recounted to illustrate Turner's "sense of humor" while at school (singing Nazi songs in front of the Jewish fraternity and putting up Ku Klux Klan warning signs on the doors of African-American students). The author does a good job of portraying his subject's drive and ingenuity as he began his mercurial career with Turner Advertising. His entrepreneurial successes?the creation of CNN, Headline News, TNT, and the purchase of the MGM film library?are all related. The coverage extends to 1997 when the tycoon donated one billion dollars to the United Nations. A few black-and-white photographs illustrate the book. Libraries owning Rebecca Stefoff's Ted Turner, (Garrett, 1992) or David Marc Fischer's Ted Turner (Rourke, 1993) may want to wait for a more distinguished offering to update their collections.
Jennifer Ralston, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp,
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7^-10. "Terrible Ted" had trouble with the rules back in military school. Although he gradually focused his energies and became a star debater and model student for a while, his trouble with boundaries resurfaced in college, and his turbulent relationship with his father haunted him for years. Taking over his father's substantial billboard business after the latter's suicide in 1964 gave Ted the chance to develop his business acumen. He bought small radio and television stations, revamped the programming, and advertised them on his billboards. By the time the "mouth of the South" introduced CNN in 1980, he already had a reputation for boldness. Meanwhile, business did not shut out his passion for sailing, which he pursued to win the America's Cup in 1977. The writing is not polished, but Turner's personal life--portrayed frankly with reference to manic depression and unstable marriages--and television and sports adventures are fascinating. Black-and-white photos; time line. Anne O'Malley

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 112 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Reynolds Publishing; 1st edition (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883846250
• ISBN-13: 978-1883846251
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #568,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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