Call Me Ted

November 10, 2008
“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. (Nov. 11)

Correction:
The correct publisher of The Empathy Gap,
reviewed Oct. 27, is Viking.

It doesn't matter that Ted Turner is not a professional reader. Yes, he drops the endings on "ing" words and often collapses two-syllable words into one. But he's a masterful storyteller, and that's what his memoir is--a series of well-told stories that explore his life from his childhood in Cincinnati and Georgia to his education at Brown University and his varied professional careers. Interspersed with his reading are anecdotes from other people who know, or knew, him. Adding depth and illumination, these are read by four other people and offer a nice change of pace. The book is informative, engaging, and easy to listen to. An audio bonus is an interview of Turner by CNN's Wolf Blitzer. R.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine