Call Me Ted (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: billboard business, sailing career, billboard company, Time Warner, Turner Broadcasting, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

I don't spend a lot of time dwelling on the past or thinking about myself, Turner claims, but the media tycoon turns out to have a pretty good memory—except for certain events, like the death of his younger sister, which he admits he's suppressed completely. After dropping out of college, Turner worked his way up from the bottom of his father's billboard company, which he inherited when his father committed suicide, and then slowly turned it into an international media empire—an uphill battle he records in entertaining detail (I don't think of myself as losing, he says of the occasional setbacks, drawing on his experiences as a champion sailor. I'm simply learning how to win). Turner's version of events is frequently interrupted by supplementary Ted Stories from those closest to him, including his children and business colleagues—even competitors. These commentaries are not always complimentary; in two passages, ex-wife Jane Fonda candidly discusses the psychological blocks she believes keep him from achieving full emotional and spiritual intimacy. There's little to challenge Turner's provocative reputation, but his reflections reveal the depth of calculation behind his career as a so-called loose cannon. (Nov. 11)Correction: The correct publisher of The Empathy Gap, reviewed Oct. 27, is Viking.
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Review

"Turner's personality infuses every page of 'Call Me Ted." (USA Today )

"One of the best business books of 2008." (USA Today )

"Mr. Turner is surprisingly candid...There is a remarkable lack of regret in Mr. Turner's writing, or of defensiveness...Mr. Turner's mantra seems to be to keep moving on." (The Economist )

"The new memoir Call Me Ted makes the Mouth of the South seem like a pleasant-even modest!-creature." (The Daily Beast Michael Korda )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (November 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446581895
• ISBN-13: 978-0446581899
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #93,859 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Call me Ted, unabridged CD, November 25, 2008

By	Daniela Haglund "DH" (Beverly Hills, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was looking forward to reading CALL ME TED, but being busy and multitasking, I decided to by the CD version.

I listen and re-listen to Ted's story. What amazed me most about this package was that Ted recorded every page of his 500 page book while recovering in the hospital - it took him 40 to 45 hours to record.

This in itself is a world breaking record to begin with. Does he understand what being tired means? I don't think so... you can hear his voice weakening in some moments, but that was the best part of why I find it inspirational.

They keep saying that his life was difficult, or his childhood was a complex one. At that time not many kids had the brightest of childhoods, but none of them were like Ted. He was about what you want for tomorrow in your life, and how you want the day after tomorrow to unfold. That is Ted Turner to me as his reader (or in this case, listener). He is a hard working, very intelligent and creative, long vision and determined, most honest, loving, caring, and a patriot to the core. What is most important, Ted Turner, achieved all of this alone, he created ideas all alone, he managed to make it happen all alone, and he stands all alone. I read almost every biography of successful people and by far this one tops them all. I am very thankful to be able to read someone's life as great as his in a most straight to the point and yet inspiring way. Whatever happens behind closed doors in his real life, this is what we need to see and read, to feel inspired, and this book did it for me. Thank you.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Southern-Fried Business Icon, December 8, 2008

By	Kevin Quinley "GeezerJock" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Some people get ulcers. Other people give ulcers. I suspect that Ted Turner falls into the second category. "Call Me Ted" is an engaging look at business maven turned philanthropist Ted Turner. We have here the story of his unusual childhood, the tutelage of a tyrannical father who sent Ted off to boarding school at the tender age of four. Turner's father developed a successful billboard company in the South before committing suicide by blowing his brains out.

Son Ted takes over the family business and through drive and grit catapulted into a multi-million-dollar corporation. With his passion for sailing, there was not much time for Turner to attend to his various wives ore kids and it probably was no piece of cake being married to him or being one of his children. Ted Turner appears to have a type AAA relentlessly restless personality that borders on hyper kinetic.

Personally, I was less engrossed in the details of the Time Warner corporate maneuverings and more interested in just what makes Ted Turner tick. If you could bottle his drive, there would be no energy crisis. Clearly in his twilight years, he has shifted his focus from the business world to global concerns as evidenced by his $1 billion gift to the United Nations. Those who enjoy People magazine will also get Turner's perspective with regard to his wooing of, marriage to and ultimate divorce from Jane Fonda.

"Call me Ted" is an absorbing biography of a modern-day American business icon whose antics have given him larger than life status.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've read a lot of business biographies, and this one was excellent, November 29, 2008

By	Datapoint3000 (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

I had forgotten about what an amazing life Ted Turner has had, from winning the America's Cup (as the skipper) to winning the World Series (as an owner) and building the cable industry. His is an inspiring story and the personal side is interetsing as well.

I have read many of the big business biographies, and some are more substantive and rewarding than others. This one is worth reading. If you are interested in the history of the media business from the 1960's on, particularly in the creation of cable, you will be interested. If you are interested in entrepreneurial stories in general, I think this will be rewarding. And I think along the way you will get interested in Turner as a person as well.

I zipped through it in two nights (not because it was short but because I was interested).

If I could change the book at all I might have had him pause more and explain at greater length some of his transitions from conservative to liberal and from Christian to agnostic. That would have been interesting but I think he wanted to focus on the business stuff, which I suppose is smart.