Call Me Ted: Call me impressed

I haven't read too many autobiographies. I got a signed copy of Chretien's book for christmas from the missus a while back and my buddy Paul at work gave me Trudeau's so Ted according to Ted makes 3 I can think of.

If those three are representative of the genre, then methinks the autobiography is none too nuanced a platform. That said, you get the story of the person straight from the horse's mouth and where the author and his helper\writer does and does not place their emphasis tends to be pretty telling and helps one sneak a peek between the lines.

This fellow Skipped the Courageous to an America's Cup, owned the braves and got a world series ring, owned the WCW (that curiously went unmentioned), started CNN, gave the UN a billion dollars, became the largest American land owner and had sex with Hanoi Jane (in her fifties albeit, but still no small potatoes). All this goes to show what a tremendous thing an education in the Classics can be.

But back to Jane Fonda. In an effort to use up more virgin rainforest the book is peppered with anecdotes written by his friends and foes, and a good chunk of them are stories about the totally inappropriate ADD shit Turner pulled that ended up being really smart in retrospect. The best ones though, are concerning the bozo move that was merging Time Warner with AOL. Turner says before he made the move, he asked four fellas for advice, and immediately afterwards all four of them have a half a page to deny ever having done it. The narrator himself is self-admittedly missing that muscle employed in introspection, having traded it for the hyper-distinguished mustache gene. So the only real digging is done in Jane Fonda's paragraphs, where she talks about his inability to do whatever he had to do to fulfill her spiritually because of his personal tragedies (of which there certainly are some).

This book is a must read for anybody who cares about TV and the cats who run it. The better part of the book is dedicated to the moving, shaking and ultimate vulnerability of networks, studios and cable. The big theme he pushes is the rise and fall of the little guy. To a point I guess I'll buy it though to say he bottomed out would be a bit of a stretch. This guy is absolutely gifted at making money and is a hard worker the way Usain Bolt is a quick runner. He accomplished all this stuff and had people stepping on his head the entire time. At times he reads like an Ayn Rand hero on speed, but the guy actually cares about the issues and spends his time shelling out his cash and making a difference, which is more than I can say for you. But above all else, he had sex with Jane Fonda. Probably over and over. Maximum respect.