Media Man: Ted Turner's Improbable Empire

How does a guy who sells billboards create a media empire? In 2001, author Ken Auletta won a National Magazine Award for his profile of media mogul Ted Turner in `The New Yorker'. In this book, he expands this profile, giving colorful detail about the remarkable life of the colorful, outspoken and complicated business cowboy. Auletta shows that Turner is shocking, abrasive and driven, but he rarely goes more deeply into Turner's motivations than to explain his rebellion against his father. The book chronicles Turner's revolutionary, meteoric creation of a cable empire, including the nation's first cable superstation, and the founding of CNN. It follows Turner as Time Inc., gobbles up his thriving company. Auletta takes a hard look at the personalities that engineered the formation of AOL Time Warner, then the world's biggest media company. Unfortunately, at this point, Auletta becomes preoccupied with the dealmakers and - like AOL TW - places Turner on the back burner. This is just a detour, however, from his compelling portrayal of a corporate superstar who ran his business from his gut. We recommend this fascinating read.

This book provides a short but insightful biography of Ted Turner, the southern businessman known for his business acquisitions, media influence, sports franchises, and Jane Fonda. The book lays out the private and public life of Ted Turner from his birth to his recent donation of $10 billion US to the UN. Included in it are chapters on his schooling, his relationship with his father, his marriage to Jane Fonda, his entry into the media market culminating with CNN, and his later entry into progressive politics. The book is easy to read and filled with colorful insights into his life. Major financial and business ventures are covered in detail, with analysis of both legal and money aspects. The book is well referenced, drawing info from interviews with Mr. Turner, his friends and family, and secondary sources such as other books and newspaper articles. The book can be read in 1 day or less, and I recommend reading it.