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Don Keith

Wizard of the Wind Kindle Edition

by Don Keith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

7 ratings

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As a boy Jimmy Gill is mesmerized by his grandmother's old console radio and the amazing sounds it magically brings into his sad, dreary existence. Through the airwaves he discovers a fabulous new world that is, in the 1950s, just entering a "golden age" of rock and roll with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino. With his young black friend, Detroit Simmons, Jimmy traces the sound he hears on the radio to a rough building just beyond his backdoor: radio station WROG. By accident, Jimmy and Dee become involved with the station and begin careers in broadcasting at early ages. Along the way, they encounter the mad, creative, colorful characters who are changing the musical landscape, the rock and roll stars and the deejays. With technical help from Detroit and financial help from some unsavory characters, Jimmy becomes a top disk jockey and eventually owns an FM station. From there, the two ride the crest of the broadcast explosion and build a media empire. Jimmy also falls in love with beautiful country music star Cleo Michaels. But along the way, Jimmy loses site of what attracted him to the magical medium of radio in the first place, the ability for a talented dee jay to emotionally affect his audience with just a few words or the right mix of music. His success sours to greed and a lust for power. But when early shady dealings threaten to topple his empire and claim his best friend, Detroit, and the woman he loves so much, he reverts to the forces that have truly shaped his life: the support of friends and the inimitable warm embrace of creatively done radio. This novel is an allegory of what has happened to radio broadcasting over the last 20 years...where power and greed have replaced the creativity and talent of the disk jockeys who virtually re-invented radio on the fly when television threatened to kill it. The book is dedicated to over 300 radio personalities who will be familiar to many who read it. After all, those readers likely grew up listening to some of these air talents, and allowed the legendary DJs to provide the soundtrack of their lives.

Print length

357 pages
Language

English
Publication date

July 3, 2012
File size

863 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A novel that begins with a two-page dedication to "radio personalities" and a scene that echoes the opening of Broadway Danny Rose?a bunch of deejays trading stories about their legendary peers?raises high expectations. Instead of a high-spirited and affectionate tale of rock-and-roll radio, however, Keith (The Forever Season) gives us the cautionary fable of Jimmy Gill, an orphan whose early love of radio in 1950s Birmingham changes his life. Indeed, he loses his soul as he grows from a disk jockey to the head of a satellite network. With his childhood friend Detroit Simmons, who has an intuitive aptitude for engineering, Gill parlays a radio station in Nashville into a satellite-uplinked national network of radio and cable-TV programming. But the money Gill uses to make the initial purchase comes from the drug-dealing of the dangerous George twins, and it comes back to haunt him at the height of his power and fame. All the ingredients are here for a great story, but Keith shows us far too much of Gill's corporate fall and not enough of the joy in his radio rise. As Gill becomes more interested in corporate power, his appeal plummets. Moreover, too many chapters read too often like print versions of a 1930s Hollywood biopic (Jimmy discovers the untapped power of FM; Jimmy discovers the untapped power of cable TV), and the ending is hokey and preachy.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This lame, lifeless novel, the second by Keith (following The Forever Season, LJ 8/95), concerns an orphaned Birmingham white-trash kid who, along with his black sidekick, grows up to become a world-beating media mogul while, you know, losing his humanity and dreams in the process. The story, utterly predictable and propped up by similarly unbelievable stick-figure characters, is intended as an homage to "radio personalities" everywhere, but, unfortunately, the book is the worst smear of drive-time AM radio you've ever been stuck in a traffic jam with. Most libraries can pass on this one.?David Bartholomew, NYPL
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Author and radio broadcaster Keith presents an insider's view of the radio industry. The story centers on Jimmy Gill, a poor boy from Alabama who teams up with Detroit Simmons, a young African American. The time is the mid-1950s, and the boys find a common bond in their love of rock-'n'-roll. The two soon worm their way into a local radio station. By the age of 12, Gill is a part-time disc jockey, with Simmons learning the engineering side. A few years later, the two buy an FM station, and it's here that the relationship begins to come apart. Gill has the business brains, and he begins acquiring other stations. Soon he is caught up in ambition and greed, going so far as to associate with some crooked investors, all of which drives Simmons further away. A compelling look at the personal costs of a seductive business. Brian McCombie --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

As a boy Jimmy Gill is mesmerized by his late mother's old console radio. Through the airwaves he discovers a fabulous new world that, in the 1950s, is just entering a "golden age" of rock, with such phenomena as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino. With his young black friend Detroit Simmons, Jimmy traces the sound to a tatty building just beyond his own back door: radio station WROG. Totally by accident Jimmy and Detroit become involved with the station, beginning careers in broadcasting at very young ages. Along the way they encounter the mad, creative, colorful characters who are changing the musical landscape. With technical help from the ever-ethical Detroit as well as financial backing by rather more unsavory fellows, Jimmy progresses from owning a budding FM station to building a media empire of radio and cable television networks. He also falls in love with a beautiful country music star, Cleo Michaels. As his success sours to greed, Jimmy Gill begins to lose touch with the magic of the medium that first grabbed him by the soul. Only when shady dealings that helped to build his career threaten to topple it does he reach back to the forces that have truly shaped his life: the support of loyal friends and the inimitable warm embrace of regional radio. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Don Keith had a 22-year career in radio broadcasting in which he was twice named BILLBOARD MAGAZINE "Radio Personality of the Year" and won every major award ifor broadcast journalism n his state from United Press and the AP. He is an award-winning and best-selling author and has published over two-dozen books on subjects including college sports, WWII history, NASCAR racing, broadcasting, submarines, and more. He lives with his wife, Charlene, in Indian Springs Village, Alabama, and is active in literacy efforts and his hobby of choice: amateur radio. His web site is www.donkeith.com --This text refers to the paperback edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008HA1YUU
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 3, 2012
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 863 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 357 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1478362944
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #1,970,603 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,874 in Movie Tie-In Fiction
- #11,783 in TV, Movie & Game Tie-In Fiction

Customer Reviews:
7 ratings

About the author

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Don Keith

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For a complete bio and a list of Don's books, visit www.donkeith.com. Join Don's mailing list for bonus content and HUNTER KILLER SERIES book updates: https://bit.ly/3otCajd Click FOLLOW for instant notification of new releases. Or visit www.wallace-keith.com

Award-winning and best-selling author Don Keith has lived in the South all his life and is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Broadcast and Film. As a broadcast journalist, he won awards from the Associated Press and United Press International for news writing and reporting and was also the first winner of Troy University’s Hector Award for innovation in broadcast journalism. As an on-the-air broadcaster, Don was twice named Billboard Magazine "Radio Personality of the Year." His first novel, THE FOREVER SEASON, received the Alabama Library Association’s "Fiction of the Year" award. He has since published more than thirty-five books, fiction and non-fiction, including several nationally best-selling thrillers. One of them, FIRING POINT, was the basis for the hit motion picture HUNTER KILLER, starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman.

His writing has also appeared in such publications as The Washington Post, CQ Magazine, The American Legion Magazine, The K9YA Telegraph, and The Irish Times. He has also appeared on scores of TV shows from Fox Nation to Blaze TV to CSPAN’s "Book TV." He is also a partner in a film production company, Fig Tree Media Group, and was writer and producer of the documentary COLORS OF CHARACTER, based on his biography, DREAM ON. He also has written several scripts and has other projects in various stages of pre-production for movies and television.

Don frequently conducts seminars and writing workshops around the country and is an in-demand public speaker.

Among other topics, Don has written extensively about World War II history. He sponsors the UNTOLD MILLIONS Project, an effort to encourage the capture and publication of eyewitness accounts of major historical events such as the Great Depression, World War II and other wars, the space program, the Civil Rights struggle, and more. The project web site is www.untoldmillions.net.

Don lives in Indian Springs Village, Alabama, with his wife, Charlene. Contact him at don@donkeith.com.

Don's web site is www.donkeith.com.

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Top reviews from the United States

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The Makatok

For those who loved radio

Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is Don Keith's scond book (and he's written many more) I really loved it. I've just completed his third book, "The Spin," and am rapidly becoming one of his fans. Wizard brought me back to my early years in broadcasting and it was almost as if I were reading my biography. It's based on Don's early career and also shows how radio become what was once a beloved profession to the commodity it is today. The characters are real and plausible. Anyone whose been in love with radio will like this book.

Helpful

Wayne C. Long

Wizard of the Wind is a Winner!

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2012

Verified Purchase

I just loved this book! It resonated with me on so many levels.

Maybe it is because my secret dream was to become a broadcast personality. Maybe it is because I am an Amateur Radio operator and I love all the technology. And maybe, just maybe, it is because Don Keith has been there and done that in this dog-eat-dog industry.

Surely, it is the fact that I love Don Keith's writing style, his uncanny ability to create realistic characters that I cared about and believable settings that came to life in my mind's eye. Surely, it is the fact that I am an avocational musicologist and Don injects such great musical cues into this story. And surely, it is the fact that Don Keith writes from his heart, that place of his that goes deep into the story-behind-the-story where truth resides.

It is rare indeed that one gets to feel the rush of a story arc so perfect that, at the end of the book, I wanted to call him on the telephone and pour out my gratitude for transforming me, the reader.

Thank you, Don, for writing such a wonderful novel. I can't wait to read your other books. Wizard of the Wind would make a great movie some day!

Helpful

J. H. C.

A Most Enjoyable Tale

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2012

Verified Purchase

When I was a kid, I had a fascination with wakie-talkies, listening to the shortwave bands and slowly tuning through the AM broadcast band to see what distant stations I could pull in. That later led to CB, amateur radio and working in broadcasting. This led to some reality checks about what the people on the air were really like, and how eccentric, cut-throat and brutal the business of broadcasting can be.

This book covers all of that and more. I have read a number of books by this author, all of which have been great.

Helpful

Robert T. Pearse

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2015

Verified Purchase

Great book kept my interest all the way

Helpful

john super

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2015

Verified Purchase

good book..