Clash of the Titans: How the Unbridled Ambition of Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch Has Created Global Empires that Control What We Read and Watch Each Day

Clash of the Titans: How the Unbridled Ambition of Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch Has Created Global Empires that Control What We Read and Watch Each Day
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Shallow, but satisfying

Clash of the Titans: How the Unbridled Ambition of Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch Has Created Global Empires that Control What We Read and Watch Each Day
Richard Hack
Manufacturer: New Millennium Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Media Man: Ted Turner's Improbable Empire (Enterprise) (Enterprise)

Rupert Murdoch: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Media Wizard

Rupert Murdoch: Creator of a Worldwide Media Empire

Murdoch: Revised and Updated

The Barry Diller Story: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Entertainment Mogul

ASIN: 1893224600

Amazon.com

What do Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch want out of life? Apart from the usual pleasures--love, fortune, good health--they apparently want to control the world's media. And, to judge by this account, each wants the other's head on a platter.

"In another time, they might have dueled on a grassy plain with muskets, or faced each other at high noon at opposite ends of a dusty street, holsters slung low on their hips," writes media/entertainment pundit Hack. Turner and Murdoch have chosen to fight it out, with undisguised venom, in a singularly public venue--Turner through CNN and other networks, Murdoch through Sky and Fox TV, plus a host of magazines and newspapers. Turner espouses liberal views while Murdoch is a hard-line conservative, but both are supreme "controllers of information" and "manipulators of public opinion," according to Hack. Their fight has cost billions of dollars, and it's wounded more than a few bystanders. It has also, as Hack rightly notes, set the tone for the contemporary press, for the worse, sacrificing journalistic integrity in the interest of two "competing political agendas ... until there is one."

Balanced, for the most part, if only because Hack seems to have little affection for either of his subjects, Clash of the Titans is a readable account of a private war between prideful tycoons with long memories. Media buffs will find much of interest in this portrait of "colliding storm fronts," both of whose reach extends far and wide. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

When Robert Edward (Ted)Turner III started out in business, he owned a small billboard company in rural Georgia. What he has eneded up with is the vice-chairmanship of AOL Time Warner throught he sale of his $3 billion empire, which includes CNN, superstation WTBS, Turner Network Television,Turner Classic Movies, the Atlanta Braves, the goodwill Games and MGM Studios.

Risk-taking, careful planning and steely determination are the hallmarks of this brash, outspoken and wildly succesful media mogul.

On the other side of the world his counterpart, Keith Rupert Murdoch, impeccably dressed, ruthless and hungry for success, began with one small Australian newspaper and parlayed it into 125 newspapers and magazines around the glove, the Fox, Inc., motion picture and television conglomerate, and news satellites on four continents.

These two men, controllers of much of the news and entertainment we receive every day, have long traded barbs and vitriolic attacks, creating an intense race for complete domination of the media. Turner and Murdoch are the major players in the media world today - and both have personal lives as complicated as their business dealings. Family squabbles, public divorces, high-profile romances, huge charitable bequests and their appearances at the most exclusive gatherings in the world have made both moguls entertainment news in their own papers and news magazine shows.

This meticulously researched look at media business is also a dual biography. In great detail it delves into both the personal and professional lives of these two outsize figures, their fierce competition, and their enormous effect on American daily life.

Customer Reviews:

Shallow, but satisfying.......2003-08-28

Rupert vs. Ted! Ted vs. Rupert! Great, easy to read narrative of the most modern media battle. If you want to know about the ideology and shenanigans behind Mr. Fair & BalancedTM, this is the book.

Km Strategies and Tactics for Business Results (Connected Learning)
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Km Strategies and Tactics for Business Results (Connected Learning)
Farida Hasanali , Bob Newhouse , Carla O'Dell , and Wesley Vestal
Manufacturer: Amer Productivity Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1928593666

Customer Reviews:

To Sumter and Beyond.......2004-03-06

The Papers of Jefferson Davis is a project out of Rice University in Houston, Texas. The entire series is well-edited, nicely produced and the format of the series is reader-friendly. The books reproduce all of the letters Davis wrote, as well as his speeches, telegrams and the responses to his letters. The responses appear in the footnotes and the appendix of the books.

For anyone with an interest in the American Civil War, Jefferson, or the politics of the Confederacy, these are welcome volumes. Most surprising to me is that Davis comes across privately as an intelligent, sometimes witty man. His letters to hiw wife, Varina, are especially intriguing. Highly recommended.

The Papers of Jefferson Davis, vol. 7, 1861. (book reviews): An article from: The Mississippi Quarterly
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The Papers of Jefferson Davis, vol. 7, 1861. (book reviews): An article from: The Mississippi Quarterly
Linda M. Matthews
Manufacturer: Mississippi State University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary
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ASIN: B000925N60
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Mississippi Quarterly, published by Mississippi State University on March 22, 1993. The length of the article is 953 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Papers of Jefferson Davis, vol. 7, 1861. (book reviews)
Author: Linda M. Matthews
Publication: The Mississippi Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1993
Publisher: Mississippi State University
Volume: v46 Issue: n2 Page: p340(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

The Capture of Jeff Davis (War paper / Michigan Commandery M.O.L.L.U.S)

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The Capture of Jeff Davis (War paper / Michigan Commandery M.O.L.L.U.S)
Julian G Dickinson
Manufacturer: Michigan Commandery M.O.L.L.U.S.]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00088X7TU

Extracts from my diary, and from my experiences while boarding with Jefferson Davis, in three of his notorious hotels, in richmond, va., tuscaloosa, Ala., ... andd sailors historical society. 6th ser.--)

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Extracts from my diary, and from my experiences while boarding with Jefferson Davis, in three of his notorious hotels, in richmond, va., tuscaloosa, Ala., ... andd sailors historical society. 6th ser.--)
William J Crossley
Manufacturer: The Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:

The beginning year of the war

The Papers of Jefferson Davis, 1861

Manufacturer: Louisiana State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0807117048

Customer Reviews:

The beginning year of the war.......2004-03-06

Altona Brown: Ruby (Yksd Biography Series)
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Altona Brown: Ruby (Yksd Biography Series)
Yvonne Yarber
Manufacturer: University of Alaska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 091087106X

Customer Reviews:

The best book I've ever read!.......1999-02-02

I really enjoyed reading Razzle Dazzle it was extremely informative and I wasn't able to put it down for a second. I love Bob Fosse and all his work. This book took into account all his achievments and even his failures to create the realism of his dark dismal mind that created some of the best shows on Broadway & in Hollywood! It is definitly worth reading

Razzle Dazzle: The Life and Work of Bob Fosse

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Razzle Dazzle: The Life and Work of Bob Fosse
Kevin Boyd Grubb
Manufacturer: St Martin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000LLKHII

Razzle Dazzle: The Life and Works of Bob Fosse

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Razzle Dazzle: The Life and Works of Bob Fosse
Kevin Boyd Grubb
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTDT5U

Book Description

From the glittering skyscrapers of Manhattan’s media elite to the slacker haven of a fashionably low-rent L.A. bar, Strawberry Saroyan traces her journey from girl- to womanhood, as well as from fantasy to reality. A powerful and profoundly postmodern coming-of-age story, with a voice reminiscent of Liz Phair’s one moment and Mary McCarthy’s the next, Girl Walks into a Bar explores Saroyan’s struggle not only with who she is and who she wants to be but also with who she is in the context of what she’s supposed to embody: the iconic, media-promulgated “girl,” a twenty-first-century version of Audrey Hepburn standing outside Tiffany’s looking at diamonds.

Girl Walks into a Bar takes a handful of the most striking and formative episodes of Saroyan’s life and brings them to the page as a filmmaker might, zooming in on the crucial “scenes”: Saroyan losing her virginity, starting her own riot-grrrly magazine, falling in dysfunctional love. Yet all the while she’s trailed by that other black-clad girl, the Platonic ideal of so many modern young women’s fantasies. Will the two ever meet? That question lies at the heart of Saroyan’s genre-bending memoir. Girl Walks into a Bar promises to be one of the most memorable debuts of the year.

Customer Reviews:

Ummmmm, not to be mean, but..........2007-04-01

Dude, this book is pretty awful. I know that sounds really...not nice? But it's not nice that publishers are putting mundane garbage like this on the shelves for us to read (when we trust their editorial standards), either. This book was just SO poorly written and boring. How did this girl get a book deal? I know her grandfather was famous--I mean, I didn't really know who he was, but whatever; plus, he wasn't, like, HEMINGWAY--ANYHOW, my point is: I wasted my money on this angst-y, empty, completely pointless blaaaahhhh memoir, so don't you do the same.

ACK.

I'm not an Amazon review-type by any mean, but I HAD to put this out there. Again--HOW DID SHE GET A FRIGGIN' BOOK DEAL? SHE HAS NOTHING INTERESTING TO SAY ABOUT ANYTHING!

I loved this book.......2005-12-08

I normally don't write reviews but just had to when I saw all the negative feedback below. As a 25-year-old, single New Yorker working in the publishing world - I thought this book was dead on with my experiences, fears, thoughts and everything else going on in my life. I don't think the author was trying to make people feel sorry for her (as one reviewer suggested) but rather being very honest about the thoughts in her head. I thought the author described perfectly how the choices and freedom that women have today in terms of career can sometimes be a curse instead of a blessing. I would reccomend this book to anyone who is figuring out what they want to do with their life beacuse if nothing else, it makes you feel like you are not alone.

cry me a river..........2003-11-10

I found this book to be sort of a cross between "Prozac Nation" and "The Devil Wears Prada"... and not in a good way. Like Elizabeth Wuertzel, Ms. Saroyan is quite privileged and successful. Her complaining throughout the book was hard to get through. Her anecdotes were long-winded and most could (should?) have been trimmed extensively. Like "The Devil Wears Prada", this book didn't make the magazine world sound like a good place for us mere mortals. I guess it was nice of Ms. Saroyan to give me a peek into her world... but I'm quite happy to step back into my own world which is filled with plenty of real people.

"Perfect Media Voice" Does not Make for the Best Memoir.......2003-10-30

I was very relieved to see the other frustrated reviews on this book. I picked it up after seeing it hyped in some media outlet, and I was so aggravated reading it that I had to check Amazon's reviews to find out if I was the only one having difficulty finishing it after getting halfway through it. She talks about a colleague mentioning her "perfect media voice." That's great and all for magazine or PR, but it's hardly the tone you expect from something as personal as a memoir. There are also WAY TOO MANY sentences beginning with "For" ("For I was not only a girl who thought she was going to a party but who found herseld out in the cold..."). Good thing the book is short.

A Memoir Of Urbane Maturity.......2003-10-14

Strawberry Saroyan has written a memoir that tells a universal story -- one's coming to maturity -- within an extraordinary context. What makes this book significant is the fact that the author is the grandaughter of a legitimate, do-something celebrity -- author William Saroyan -- and she herself worked as a staff writer for some of the most high-profile print media in New York and California.

Few people can claim to have played out their roaring twenties on Strawberry Saroyan's level, yet there are many who did work for a Pittsburgh Magazine, or a Centre Daily Times, and who had their own memorable "Thursday Night" gatherings of like-minded friends. This book is for them -- those who aspire to actively participate in the culture of the urban American experience.

Saroyan uses a cool prose style: crisp sentences and succinct descriptions. One can imagine the author telling this tale during an evening's conversation over a bottle of red wine. At the end of the night, the reader feels that one of her (or his) own have made good, and have done so by writing a book that entertains and advises without asking for anything but a sympathetic ear and an open mind.

Best Practices in Policies and Procedures
Average customer rating:

Great book with a new shift

Great Book for Policy and Procedure Strategy

Excellent Source of Policy and Procedure Examples

Interesting Sequel

Good grasp of strategic planning

Best Practices in Policies and Procedures
Stephen Page
Manufacturer: Process Improvement Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Establishing a System of Policies and Procedures

7 Steps to Better Written Policies and Procedures

Achieving 100% Compliance of Policies and Procedures

How to Write Policies, Procedures & Task Outlines: Sending Clear Signals in Written Directions

Writing Effective Policies and Procedures: A Step-By-Step Resource for Clear Communication

ASIN: 1929065078

Product Description

"Best Practices in Policies and Procedures" focuses on the best principles of the best policy and procedure authors from the policy and procedure industry. Additionally, this author incorporates the best principles of his other three books in this book. This book focuses on best practices for the following:

Researching, networking, and flow charting
Using the table of contents document to number and prioritize policy and procedure work efforts
Team building
Team solutions
Writing format
Using the Internet to search out sample policies and procedures for reference purposes

The last chapter includes the table of contents pages from 15 industries. The purpose of this chapter is to save you lots of time when determining what topics belong in important functions such as accounting, purchasing, or human resources.

Download Description

Policies and Procedures book that gives you the BEST PRACTICES for developing and writing policies and procedures. This best practices book is based on my 28 years of experience, from well-known authors in the procedures writing industry, and from standards put forth by various organizations and associations. Learn how to conduct research, form cross-functional teams, select team members, study and derive solutions to problems, facilitate meetings, draw procedural diagrams, put the diagrams into writing, and write consistently and logically using a proven policies and procedures system, or methodology. This book provides the best of the best for the development of a system of policies and procedures and for actually writing policies and procedures. FEATURES Finding and developing actual content is one of the most sought-after subjects by my readers and yet it's an area often overlooked by other procedure authors. This book presents several methods and techniques for finding content. Use the sample tables of contents from popular company manuals (e.g., accounting, personnel, or purchasing) and links to thousands of sample policies and procedures as reference material when you're finally ready to sit down and write your policy and procedure documents. You'll find that I keep up with technology and methodology of my fellow procedures' professionals.. My books have been bought by thousands of companies in more than 92 countries and they are carried by more than 20 bookstores including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Borders. Reviews and testimonials have been included. Novice and professional writers alike will benefit from this book. Add this book to your reference library today.

Customer Reviews:

Great book with a new shift.......2002-07-17

This fourth book of the author's clearly takes a new direction. His first three books covered the framework for setting up a system of policies and procedures as well as how to write each policy or procedure. This kind of detail does not exist in any of his competitors' books. In this book, the author concentrates on the importance of aligning policies and procedures at any level to the corporate vision and strategy. He goes so far as to show the reader how to become involved in setting corporate strategy to ensure that there is clear alignment between the strategy and procedure. Without this direct tie to management support, the policies and procedures department is typically considered overhead and is the first department to be eliminated in reorganizations or mergers.

I particularly appreciated the second half of this book as I have been looking for an author to write information about what really goes into a policy or procedure for many years. Finding this content has been most difficult. While I am a fairly experienced procedures writer, I couldn't help but feel I was reinventing the wheel since someone, somewhere had to have written similar policies and procedures I could reference. The author provides many ways to find actual policies and procedure content on the Internet, and has referenced more than 150 websites which appear to contain thousands of links to real policies and procedures. I am especially excited about this because as a consultant my jobs change frequently and being able to find sample procedures in various industries will help me out a lot. This book is an impressive effort.

Great Book for Policy and Procedure Strategy.......2002-07-12

This book is the first of its kind and has aid my team greatly as it shows how to align policies and procedures directly to the company's vision, strategic direction, and core processes. It also shows how to identify and select core processes, another real plus.

The author does an excellent job of showing you how to develop a team to study and implement policies and procedures. He shows you a path from identify an idea to identify best solution to document solution to writing the solution. This is a great chapter. He also integrates his other three books into this book.

In the last half of the book he does a great service to people looking to develop new policies and procedures for those who wish to improve their current ones. He gives great, really great examples on actual policies and procedures in 60 industries.

Great Book!

Excellent Source of Policy and Procedure Examples.......2002-07-12

This is an excellent book. The author gives a very clear explanation of how policies and procedures are linked to vision, strategic plan, and core processes. And like the previous reviewer said, he does an excellent job of describing how a team works in conjunction with writing processes and procedures.

The author gives URLs that point to thousands of policy and procedure examples. I am so pleased to have found this book.

Interesting Sequel.......2002-07-10

Steve's new book is a good addition to his series on developing policies and procedures: Establishing a System of Policies and Procedures, Achieving 100% Compliance of Policies and Procedures, and 7 Steps to Better Written Policies and Procedures.

(In particular, Steve's new book focuses on strategic planning, architecture, and coordination for the design and development of policies and procedures. In addition, Steve's new book now recognizes the importance of studying existing examples of policies and procedures, and their role in successfully designing new ones.)

Steve's books are a unique blend of strategic, tactical, and operational methods for planning and implementing the design and development of policies and procedures for any purpose.

Steve's books are particularly useful to the application of Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), Software Capability Maturity Model (SW-CMM), ISO 9000, and IEEE 12207.

Steve, an outsider to the field of software process improvement (SPI), unlocks the secrets of implementing successful software process architectures (which is a previously uncrossable chasm created by SPI researchers who have not had much success in mastering Steve's discipline).

The fields of business process reengineering (BPR), software process improvement (SPI), and process mapping need more unselfish pioneers like Stephen B. Page to bring practical advice to the technically-starved analysts created in the wake of blockbuster standards such as CMMI, SW-CMM, ISO 9000, and IEEE 12207.

Good grasp of strategic planning.......2002-07-06

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. Steve gives URL's to on-line procedures that are professionally written. He also describes strategic planning and vision statements, and how having well documented procedures can be an asset for a company.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Technical Communication, published by Society for Technical Communication on February 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1124 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Best practices in policies and procedures. (Book Reviews).
Author: Raymond E. Urgo
Publication: Technical Communication (Refereed)
Date: February 1, 2003
Publisher: Society for Technical Communication
Volume: 50 Issue: 1 Page: 100(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Customer Reviews:

A vivid and candid memoir of the war.......2001-10-11

Fred Edwards served as an intelligence officer during the Vietnam War and visited very major ground unit from Special Forces camps and ground reconnaissance unites, to armored calvary units, and waterborne reconnaissance units. An invaluable and strongly recommended contribution to the military annals of the Viet Name conflict, Edward's The Bridges Of Vietnam: From The Journals Of A U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer is as vivid and candid memoir of the war from the perspective of a front-line intelligence officer as is available to the non-specialist general reader or military buff.

Well organized, easy to read, and surprisingly interesting.......2001-06-10

I have read quite a few books made from journals of individuals in Vietnam. Most are either dry accounts of movements or almost novelized disjointed experiences. This Book "The Bridges of Vietnam: From the Journals of a U. S. Marine Intelligence Office" Is not only chronologically organized, but also has a list of external events that took place at the same time.

With out a frame of reference it would be hard to tell if he was barging or borrowing someone else's idea of Vietnam. However in chapter Three "Internship" he covered the same territory (II Corps TZ) as I did; only he was there six months earlier. I saw his reference to the Fourth Infantry with out any reference to the armed reconnaissance First of the Tenth attached to the Fourth Infantry. I also spent some time in other locations and he does a good job of describing daily life. It looks like he left out how to do the job he does and maybe some things he did. For the most part he was dead accurate as to the people and environment of the time. He makes you feel that you are there.

This book is well worth reading and then keeping as a reference. Especially as time passed and you forget your first taste of warm "33" beer.

Hang in There! Your Today Is Not Your Forever
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Hang in There! Your Today Is Not Your Forever
Fran Moore
Manufacturer: McDougal Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Reference & Collections | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Ministry | Ministry & Church Leadership | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1581580681

Book Description

Journalists and political commentators have written extensively on the political consequences of the strains created by the transformation of the U.S. economy over the last thirty years. Yet, the individual-level anxiety accompanying America's transition to a postindustrial, globalized economy has not been explored in any systematic way. In fact, what clear empirical evidence we do have strongly suggests that citizens do not link their personal fortunes to their political opinions. Wiefek argues that the way in which political scientists normally go about looking for these connections misses what citizens experience in their daily lives, particularly their emotional reactions. The measures commonly used by political scientists do not tap the specific features of America's post-1973 economic transformation or the anxiety, insecurity, and fear it engenders. Wiefek presents a conceptualization of economic anxiety that draws upon psychological, sociological, economic, and political science theories and findings, and the distinct nature of the new economy. Using data from a mail survey, she estimates the impact of economic anxiety and presents strong evidence of its predictive power on political opinion. She concludes with a discussion of the political implications of these findings and argues that the progressive political potential of shared anxieties will require reversing the anti-government bias endemic to our current public dialogue.

The Impact of Economic Anxiety in Postindustrial America

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The Impact of Economic Anxiety in Postindustrial America
Nancy Wiefek
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORO9EM

Book Description

In just a few short years, Mel Gibson shot from drama school obscurity to international fame. This biography follows the trajectory of his career, starting with his first roles in Australia's Mad Max movies, through a variety of notable films like Peter Weir's Gallipoli, the ambitious The Year of Living Dangerously, and the mega-hit Lethal Weapon, to his current position as one of Hollywood's top-grossing stars and an Academy Award-winning director.

Customer Reviews:

Tabloid.......2006-03-10

Full of hatred as the first one, just the sources of this last one tell us everything about how the writer of that biography has written it : using tabloids and people magazines....
That's all, so no doubt about the poor accuracy of the content.
Better buy other books on Mr Gibson.

Mel Gibson; Raw and Uncensored........2006-01-25

Wensley Clarkson has done a very thorough job in researching the life of Mel Gibson. Through this book the reader comes to know him intimately, warts and all. Mr Clarkson has literally followed Mel Gibson's tracks around the world, interviewing friends, co-workers, and old girlfriends. From the utterly fascinating history of his Irish Catholic family to his spectacular rise to Hollywood prominence and the tales from behind the scenes of his most famous movies and box office failures. Mel's father, Hutton Gibson, a former Catholic seminarian, World War II veteran, and all around cut up, proves almost more interesting than his famous son. The book also unintentionally details the struggle he has faced as a religious conservative working in the most Godless industry on the planet. Mr Clarkson's writing, however, is often skewed by his clearly Liberal politics. THis is all fine and dandy for him but for those who do not share those politics and who genuinely admire Mel Gibson for taking on the Hollywood Establishment, they come across as very patronizing anbd sometimes even worse. Mr. Clarkson's characterization of Traditional Catholics as "callow reactionaries" who are opposed to "progress in most forms," was as painful to me as a brutal slap in the face. The problem I faced with this book was that if one desires to know about Mel Gibson, there is very little else that one can look for in the way of reading material. Therefore as far as Mr. Clarkson is concerned, one cannot live with him, and one cannot live with out him.

Details but no Delivery.......2005-02-28

If you are looking for every detail known to modern man regarding all of the OTHER movies Mel Gibson ever starred in or directed, this is the book for you. If you are looking for true insight into The Passion, just skip to the last few pages and you will still be disappointed. I, too, am ashamed to say I spent a good deal of time wading through all of the details in the bulk of this book, hoping to get to the point. Very disappointing.

Not worth your time.......2005-02-20

I am ashamed to say I read this entire book. I kept hoping it would get better but it didn't. It is filled with typos and poor organization of thoughts and topics. Clarkson actually spells Mel Gibson's name wrong several times throughout the book, and refers to Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner as "Dormer" for several pages! He jumps back and forth from one movie production to another making it difficult to follow. Lastly, he relies on the accounts of people who had met Mel Gibson at one time but who had either a personal or professional conflict with him. In the retelling of these conflicts and what went down, we hear one point of view only - and generally that is the view of someone who is harboring bitterness and resentment towards Gibson, so their accounts are slanted and untrustworthy. The best part of the book is the end for two reasons: Clarkson finally gets to Gibson's most recent project, The Passion of the Christ. The subtitle and the picture on the back of the book gives the impression this project will be a major focus of the book, but after 300 pages of reading, I was still waiting for the subject to come up. I have to say I felt that this was the only well written part of the whole book - thoughtful and interesting. The second reason the end is the best part of the book is that it was finally over. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I can't help it. I highly recommend reading the book about the making of the Passion of the Christ - you can learn a lot about Gibson there - but I cannot recommend this biography.

In Depth View of Mel's films and personal life.......1999-08-07

Mr. Clarkson wrote a book in 1994 titled "Mel the Inside Story" (hardcover). This book was held up and not released in the United States because Mr. Gibson's lawyers were trying to stop it from being published. I have that book and can understand why he didn't want it published. Although it does give and excellent film history, throughout the book the author seems to have a jealousy of Mel and his success and repeatedly slanders and denigrates his father and religious beliefs. This book in paperback is the same book, a little updated. I am a big Mel fan and don't like the author's tone at times, but if you are a fan you will find it extremely interesting and informative. You will just have to take some parts of it with a grain of salt- "he said, she said" stuff and rumors. In any case, if you have the hardcover "Mel the Inside Story", dont bother to purchase this update. I could only rate either of these 3 stars because of the sense of personal bias throughout. A good book on Mel is Lethal Hero which is out of print (I have it, too) but you may be able to get a copy. It has better personal views of Mel, but, surprisingly, some really juicy stuff that Mr. Clarkson missed out on. In any case, MEL RULES!!!

Customer Reviews:

An Indispensible Classic!.......2001-08-18

When I first took this book out of the Amazon.com box, my first thought was, "What have I gotten myself into?" It was a massive tome, covering a century of European warfare in considerable detail. Not only was it huge in size and scope, but I was worried about the prose, given the age of the text.

Fifty pages into the book, I could not put it down. This is quite simply an extraordinary military classic. T.A. Dodge is an exceptional military historian. Unlike many of those who ply that trade, Dodge was a veteran officer and possessed of exceptional military judgement. This is no chairborne commando, but an insightful and experienced soldier whose wealth of practical military experience brings the reality of 17th Century warfare alive.

Any understanding of military history from 1618-1815 (yes, that's 1815, even though the book stops in 1712) will be deficient without this book. Dodge tells the critical story of how armies evolved from relatively disorganized and short-term field armies to vast, professional military establishments controlled by the monarchs of Europe. The evolution of the modern state cannot be fully understood if one does not appreciate this facet of the military revolution of the 1600s. Dodge is equally adept at bringing the battlefield tactics of the time to life, and illustrating their development. He skillfully guides the reader along the path of military evolution which ultimately sets the stage for Frederick the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte.

The caveats of this book are that it is long on text and short on maps. The lack of maps makes following the course of marches and counter-marches somewhat difficult. Furthermore, a basic knowledge of the geopolitics of the time is helpful.

For anyone with the fortitude, this book will bestow upon them a deeper understanding of a seminal period in European history.

Informative, but Tedious.......2000-05-30

I read this because I really enjoyed Dodge's military biography of Hannibal, but this book, possibly due to the period covered, was episodic, and without knowledge of European political history during the reign of Louis XIV, hard to follow. The first section, covering Adolfus's campaign in the Thirty Year's War, was quite entertaining, mainly because his efforts were dramatic, innovative, and successful against overwhelming odds. However, once into the military exploits of Conde, Turenne, Cromwell, Eugene, and Marlborough, the narrative becomes rather monotonous, describing one siege after another, one uneventful campaigning season after another. (This, too, no doubt reflects the time: the whole period of the post-Adolfus Thirty Year's War and the War of the Spanish Succession was one vast war of attrition.) Dodge does describe the important battles quite well, and offers incisive assessments of the character and abilities of the period's leading military figures. The book is long (about 850 pages), and long on military facts and figures. Dodge, a veteran of the American Civil War, writes in a rather formal and technical style, adding to the difficulties in wading through the text. I would give the book an "A" for information, but a "C-" for readability. If the subject matter really interests you, I'd say give it a try. If not, pass.

Gustavus Adolphus: A History of the Art of War from Its Revival After the Middle Ages to the End of the Spanish Succession War, With a Detailed Account of the Campaigns

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Gustavus Adolphus: A History of the Art of War from Its Revival After the Middle Ages to the End of the Spanish Succession War, With a Detailed Account of the Campaigns
Theodore Ayrault Dodge
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSFZJY

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