Call Me Ted
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4.2 • 45 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From the legendary Ted Turner, who reinvented TV—and the world—by breaking all the rules, a tell-all memoir.
"Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise!"
These words of fatherly advice helped shape Ted Turner's remarkable life, but they only begin to explain the colorful, energetic, and unique style that made Ted into one of the most amazing personalities of our time. Along the way—among his numerous accomplishments—Ted became one of the richest men in the world, the largest land owner in the United States, revolutionized the television business with the creation of TBS and CNN, became a champion sailor and winner of the America's Cup, and took home a World Series championship trophy in 1995 as owner of the Atlanta Braves.
An innovative entrepreneur, outspoken nonconformist, and groundbreaking philanthropist, Ted Turner is truly a living legend, and in this memoir, he reveals his personal story—from his difficult childhood to the successful launch of his media empire to the catastrophic AOL/Time Warner deal, and his many marriages including the one to Jane Fonda.
In Call Me Ted, you'll hear Ted Turner's distinctive voice on every page. Always forthright, he tells you what makes him tick and what ticks him off, and delivers an honest account of what he's all about. Inspiring and entertaining, Call Me Ted sheds new light on one of the greatest visionaries of our time.
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. Correction: The correct publisher of The Empathy Gap, reviewed Oct. 27, is Viking.
Customer Reviews
Call me Ted
Really a fantastic and inspiring book!
Not a terrible book about earning and losing billions of dollars
Ted Turner was a terrible father for his kids growing up. It’s pretty clear that he was absent as a dad, and Jane Fonda dives into Ted’s childhood perhaps more than he feels comfortable doing. It’s a good read. There’s more about sailing than I would have liked, but it was fascinating to see the behind the scenes work on creating cable television networks. He is an exceptionally poor negotiator but I loved the optimistic note he ended the book on, saying that we could do our part to make the planet a better place.
Call Me Ted
Ted Turner has been my idol since my childhood days in Newport watching the America's Cup races. As I became involved in the business world, Ted remained my idol and an icon. This book is a great read about one of the most significant people of our time in so many different ways!
If there were only more people in life and in business like Ted Turner. Captain Courageous, Mouth From the South, humanitarian etc...he loves his life right an sets an example and a standard to strive for!