Koncocoo

Best Radio

Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It
Beginning with his journey from the small town of Moncks Corner, South Carolina to his headline grabbing interviews with celebrities like Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, and Hillary Clinton, he shares how he turned his troubled early life around by owning his (many) mistakes and refusing to give up on his dreams, even after his controversial opinions got him fired from several on-air jobs. “After meeting this young man I was impressed by his real desire to be relevant and his genuine yearning to leave meaningful footprints in the sand, this book is just that: a young man passing on relevant knowledge and experiences to help others better their position in life. And stop asking questions about my butt.” --Lena Dunham. “Charlamagne is a great friend.....after you threaten to punch him in the face a few times.” --La La Anthony. “South Carolina has produced some really beautiful, talented, smart, upstanding citizens…..and Charlamagne!” --Stephen Colbert. “Charlamagne is a f*cking asshole, but he's my favorite one."
Reviews
"Self-help, or otherwise, this book had so much valuable information about getting through life told from a man who at best I knew from seeing him on VH-1 and listening to the Breakfast Club. As I listened to this book, I felt like I was sitting in a room and he was telling me what was wrong with me, how I got there, but most importantly that I had the power to get myself out and into a better situation. The kind of cry you have when you thought you had run out of tears and where you feel it in the pit of your stomach. I had been praying for guidance and God in his wisdom lead me to purchase your book and it is one that will be prominently on my bookshelf, in my headphones and on my iPhone."
"This book should be mandatory reading for pretty much everyone, but ESPECIALLY teenagers today."
"As an African American I say this a must read for urban youth but also for anyone of that matter seeking a practical approaches to day to day life supported by the raw experiences of the author who overcame many adversities to be able to share his testimony and have built a platform that has been so influential in bringing information from various aspects to the forefront."
"started off a little slow, but I really enjoyed the read, enjoyed some of the lessons, and just hope it reaches those who need to read it about a Black guy, kind of lost, parents who loved him, father who regardless of his relationships with the overall family, he was one hell of a father."
"Very informative and enlightening read."
"Awesome Book."
"It's informative, funny, inspiring and empowering as my review title states."
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Bare Bones: I'm Not Lonely If You're Reading This Book
A touching, funny, heart-wrenching, and triumphant memoir from one of the biggest names in radio, the host of The Bobby Bones Show , one of the most listened-to drive time morning radio shows in the nation. Abandoned by his father at the age of five, Bobby saw the radio as his way out—a dream that came true in college when he went on air at the Henderson State University campus station broadcasting as Bobby Bones, while simultaneously starting The Bobby Bones Show at 105.9 KLAZ. Raised by an alcoholic single mother and an enterprising grandmother who taught him to shop at garage sales, play poker, and love music, Bobby spent his childhood in the hills and trailer parks of Mountain Pine, Arkansas. Full of stories from his childhood, his brushes with the best and the beautiful of music—hint: not all of them like him (oh well)—the hijinks and danger that have been a part of his journey, and rippling with his self-deprecating humor, Bare Bones is the heartfelt, honest tale of someone who has truly lived the American dream. Nationally, it is the biggest country music morning show in America, with an estimated audience of nearly five million listeners.
Reviews
"If youve been a listener for a while then you have heard most of the stories but it was also cool to get a glimpse into Bobby's head about what he was going through/feeling at certain times of his life .."
"I've been debating suggesting the book to a friend, because I constantly recommend the radio show to her, but I don't know how engaging the book is to someone who doesn't know BB through his radio show."
"Good book, most if not all the stories I had heard before but Bobby goes into more detail than on air."
"Loved all of the stories in the book, from growing up in a small Arkansas town, to how he got started in radio to meeting all the celebrities."
"I found myself getting lost in this book, feeling like I was reading my best friend's story. It only took me about a day and a half to finish this book but it was time well spent."
"This book truly touched my heart, as I too was a child of a teenage mom, and the thought that her live might have been better if I had not been born has crossed my mine a lot as I was growing up."
"Anyone who is looking for something; a sign, a message, an epiphany, an 'ah-ha moment' should take the time to read this book. Don't read it just because it's a #1 best seller, don't read it because someone has forced your hand, or you have given into peer pressure."
"He is great at making a connection to people without having to be in the same room, town or state!"
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My Voice: A Memoir
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Angie Martinez is the “Voice of New York.” Now, for the first time, she candidly recounts the story of her rise to become an internationally celebrated hip hop radio icon. She's a businesswoman, philanthropist, and a TRUE CHAMPION OF OUR CULTURE , who has forever altered the landscape of radio and hip-hop music.”—Jennifer Lopez. "I just love the way Angie Martinez handles herself in interviews. It is a fascinating look at Angie’s life, her incredible career, and the evolution of the music business from her one-of-a-kind perspective.”—Senator Cory Booker. “Growing up as a Puerto Rican girl in New York City, I looked up to Angie, like so many other girls. In a way that only a person who has lived it can.” – The Huffington Post “Her voice is a theme throughout the memoir, both literally and figuratively, with Angie painting detailed portraits of how she developed as a person and used not only her voice, but her experiences and perspectives to navigate life and remain honest to her truest self.
Reviews
"A real hip hop fan will love this memoir.And truth be told,I think any fan of radio personalities and music in general will love this."
"So my expectations were to hear juicy stories about the interviews, moments, and highlights in the world of HipHop. The juicy tales she did share were those she recognized as impactful to her life and was a lesson in building the woman she is constantly working on. This book is an accurate depiction of the ground breaking, original female, hip hop head that you've come to know on the show with some reasons for why she has made life choices and conducts herself the way she does."
"Wonderful book."
"I haven't put the book down yet."
"A Jersey girl who grew up in the same era as Angie, Im SO happy I read this, bc Ill be honest - her move to Power made me question her loyalty.... What can I say? She dabbled as we all did was so honest, and real...and I didnt put the book down til I got to WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WHEN SHE WENT TO POWER...and it all made sense.. She is beautiful, smart, not a girlie girl and high maintenance."
"Growing up in New York City when Hip Hop was just starting to get played on the radio brought me back to my youth."
"I just finished reading this jewel, Angie Martinez's book, My Voice: A Memoir! When you said you wanted to jump off the bridge while running the marathon I busted out laughing on the train whilst everyone stared lol. Then when I thought it was all over and couldn't wait to actually write a review, something I hardly do and I read a lot... you bless us even more with throw back pictures. This was a hip hop history lesson to a younger reader or a walk down memory lane and behind the scenes stories for those of us listening all those years. When you left hot 97, I can admit that I was angry at first but as I started to think about it and you also clarified in this book, it was simply time to move on and grow."
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Best General Broadcasting

Bare Bones: I'm Not Lonely If You're Reading This Book
A touching, funny, heart-wrenching, and triumphant memoir from one of the biggest names in radio, the host of The Bobby Bones Show , one of the most listened-to drive time morning radio shows in the nation. Abandoned by his father at the age of five, Bobby saw the radio as his way out—a dream that came true in college when he went on air at the Henderson State University campus station broadcasting as Bobby Bones, while simultaneously starting The Bobby Bones Show at 105.9 KLAZ. Raised by an alcoholic single mother and an enterprising grandmother who taught him to shop at garage sales, play poker, and love music, Bobby spent his childhood in the hills and trailer parks of Mountain Pine, Arkansas. Full of stories from his childhood, his brushes with the best and the beautiful of music—hint: not all of them like him (oh well)—the hijinks and danger that have been a part of his journey, and rippling with his self-deprecating humor, Bare Bones is the heartfelt, honest tale of someone who has truly lived the American dream. Nationally, it is the biggest country music morning show in America, with an estimated audience of nearly five million listeners.
Reviews
"If youve been a listener for a while then you have heard most of the stories but it was also cool to get a glimpse into Bobby's head about what he was going through/feeling at certain times of his life .."
"I've been debating suggesting the book to a friend, because I constantly recommend the radio show to her, but I don't know how engaging the book is to someone who doesn't know BB through his radio show."
"Good book, most if not all the stories I had heard before but Bobby goes into more detail than on air."
"Loved all of the stories in the book, from growing up in a small Arkansas town, to how he got started in radio to meeting all the celebrities."
"I found myself getting lost in this book, feeling like I was reading my best friend's story. It only took me about a day and a half to finish this book but it was time well spent."
"This book truly touched my heart, as I too was a child of a teenage mom, and the thought that her live might have been better if I had not been born has crossed my mine a lot as I was growing up."
"He is vulnerable in telling his story and it's obvious that he is telling it to not only show the reader that they aren't alone out there, but he's telling it so he won't feel alone in his journey through life."
"Anyone who is looking for something; a sign, a message, an epiphany, an 'ah-ha moment' should take the time to read this book. Don't read it just because it's a #1 best seller, don't read it because someone has forced your hand, or you have given into peer pressure."
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Best Radio History & Criticism

White Line Fever: The Autobiography
During their forty-year history, Motörhead released over twenty albums, won a Grammy, and conquered the rock world with such songs as “Ace of Spades,” “Bomber,” and “Overkill.” Throughout the creation of this impressive discography, the Motörhead lineup saw many changes, but Lemmy was always firmly at the helm. Having been a member of the Rockin' Vicars, Opal Butterflies, and Hawkwind, he formed Motorhead, the legendary English heavy metal band. Kilmister has been credited as an enormous influence on the genres of rock, heavy metal, death metal, punk, and speed metal.
Reviews
"Read the book in a matter of hours with Motorhead in the ear buds the whole time (highly recommended)."
"Great book about an amazing icon and personality in the music world."
"what a career, props to the Lem for surviving the mayhem and never backing down!"
"Very good book."
"You will learn a few things: Lemmy doesn't keep track of how many drugs he took or how many women he slept with (there were LOTS of each), but he has a good time, and the craziness and chaos of touring with a heavy-metal band comes across loud and clear."
"From beginning to end it feels like Lemmy's in the room with you having a conversation."
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Best Radio Reference

On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
Now long out of print, John Dunning's Tune in Yesterday was the definitive one-volume reference on old-time radio broadcasting. Now, in On the Air , Dunning has completely rethought this classic work, reorganizing the material and doubling its coverage, to provide a richer and more informative account of radio's golden age. Mystery writer and radio talk show host Dunning has expertly compiled and organized a massive amount of research data on hundreds of radio shows aired from the 1920s through the 1960s. The entries, listed alphabetically by show title, each contain a treasure trove of information?broadcast dates, casts and personnel, anecdotes, special analyses, and a detailed overview of each show's background, format, and content. ?Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. As he did in Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Prentice Hall, 1976), Dunning here provides a storehouse of information about the people and programs of radio's Golden Age (1930s, 1940s, 1950s). Devotees of classic television shows may be surprised to find out that such programs as Father Knows Best , Our Miss Brooks , Queen for a Day , and Sky-King all started as radio programs.
Reviews
"Rather than replace "Tune in Yesterday" with this volume (or not buy "Tune in Tomorrow" at all), I'd advise people who are really into old-time radio to own both as companion pieces."
"There is no article in the book on any of the three (later four) broadcast companies - NBC (with its Red and Blue separate networks), CBS, Mutual and after 1943, ABC (which was the former Blue Network of NBC, forced to sell by anti trust legal action)."
"Very happy with my purchase."
"Very nostalgic for an old timer."
"John Dunning's book is amazingly comprehensive, but so are many other such assemblages of old-time radio data."
"I discovered this book while evaluating encyclopedic resources for my MLIS class; I could not put it down and bought it for my home library and as a gift for an avid radio enthusiast I knew would enjoy it!"
"For most of us today, it's hard to realize just how much good radio programming was available in the 1930s and 1940s, some of which has been preserved, and is available in places like archive.org because a small percentage of the old program records have survived."
"Interesting to find out that child voices were played by adults and black characters were played by whites."
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Best Humor

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love. Born a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, but a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. “[An] unforgettable memoir.” — Parade “What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. In the end, Born a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, but a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times “[An] unforgettable memoir.” — Parade. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a comic’s origin story better than the one Trevor Noah serves up in Born a Crime . [He] developed his aptitude for witty truth telling [and]…every hardscrabble memory of helping his mother scrape together money for food, gas, school fees, and rent, or barely surviving the temper of his stepfather, Abel, reveals the anxious wellsprings of the comedian’s ambition and success. If there is harvest in spite of blight, the saying goes, one does not credit the blight-but Noah does manage to wring brilliant comedy from it.” — O: The OprahMagazine “What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. “This isn't your average comic-writes-a-memoir: It’s a unique look at a man who is a product of his culture—and a nuanced look at a part of the world whose people have known dark times easily pushed aside.” —Refinery29. told through stories and vignettes that are sharply observed, deftly conveyed and consistently candid. Growing organically from them is an affecting investigation of identity, ethnicity, language, masculinity, nationality and, most of all, humanity—all issues that the election of Donald Trump in the United States shows are foremost in minds and hearts everywhere. What the reader gleans are the insights that made Noah the thoughtful, observant, empathic man who wrote Born a Crime . Here is a level-headed man, forged by remarkable and shocking life incidents, who is quietly determined and who knows where home and the heart lie. “A gifted storyteller, able to deftly lace his poignant tales with amusing irony.” — Entertainment Weekly. Among the many virtues of Born a Crime is a frank and telling portrait of life in South Africa during the 1980s and ’90s. Born a Crime offers Americans a second introduction to Trevor Noah, and he makes a real impression.” — Newsday. Noah is quick with a disarming joke, and he skillfully integrates the parallel narratives via interstitial asides between chapters. Perhaps the most harrowing tales are those of his abusive stepfather, which form the book’s final act (and which Noah cleverly foreshadows throughout earlier chapters), but equally prominent are the laugh-out-loud yarns about going to the prom, and the differences between ‘White Church’ and ‘Black Church.’” — Publishers Weekly (starred review). Incisive, funny, and vivid, these true tales are anchored to his portrait of his courageous, rebellious, and religious mother who defied racially restrictive laws to secure an education and a career for herself—and to have a child with a white Swiss/German even though sex between whites and blacks was illegal. and his candid and compassionate essays deepen our perception of the complexities of race, gender, and class.” — Booklist (starred review). Trevor Noah is the most successful comedian in Africa and is the host of the Emmy and Peabody Award–winning The Daily Show on Comedy Central.
Reviews
"Trevor Noah is a superb storyteller, and this memoir is his eloquent and touching account of growing up as the mixed race child of a single mother, living in poverty in deeply racist and sexist South Africa. Reminiscent of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, it is a superbly written story of a perceptive and resilient child thriving in very difficult circumstances, and it beautifully captures these circumstances seen through the eyes of a child."
"I have to love a guy who finds comedy in tragedy and who gleefully spins yarns about experiences that would keep most of us in therapy for a lifetime. The heroine of the book is Noah's mother, a feisty lady with a solid rock faith, a gal who snubs her nose at things that don't make sense. He learned to navigate Apartheid society's complex system that divided people in to three groups: black, white, and colored. Noah was 'colored' with a 'black' Xhosa African mother and a 'white' Swiss father, his very existence implicating his parent's crime. He spoke multiple languages, Xhosa and Zulu and Afrikaans, and English, could fit into most groups, but felt affiliated to black culture."
"As a long time viewer of the Daily Show, I started watching as Trevor took over from Jon Stewart and while I've always thought he does a good job, I had no idea the depth of character and experiences that were below the surface of those cute dimples! He is a wonderful story teller, finding the right balance between relaying his experiences, weaving in the social atmosphere around it and doing it in such a way that even as an American reader, I was able to visualize the communities he was describing in rich detail."
"She reminds me so much of my own dear Mama, who was strong, beautiful, soulful, and with a love of life and family that is infinite."
"What an great book."
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Best Movies

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
From one of the co-founders of Pixar Animation Studios—the Academy Award–winning studio behind Coco, Inside Out, and Toy Story —comes an incisive book about creativity in business and leadership for readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Huffington Post • Financial Times • Success • Inc. • Library Journal “[ Creativity, Inc. ]. just might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”— Fast Company Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture—but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, “an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.”. Praise for Creativity, Inc. “Over more than thirty years, Ed Catmull has developed methods to root out and destroy the barriers to creativity, to marry creativity to the pursuit of excellence, and, most impressive, to sustain a culture of disciplined creativity during setbacks and success.” —Jim Collins, co-author of Built to Last and author of Good to Great “Too often, we seek to keep the status quo working. “Just might be the best business book ever written.” — Forbes “Achieving enormous success while holding fast to the highest artistic standards is a nice trick—and Pixar, with its creative leadership and persistent commitment to innovation, has pulled it off. Any reader of Creativity, Inc., Catmull’s new book on the art of running creative companies, will have to agree. Catmull, president of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation, has written what just might be the most thoughtful management book ever.” — Fast Company “It’s one thing to be creative; it’s entirely another—and much more rare—to build a great and creative culture. Over more than thirty years, Ed Catmull has developed methods to root out and destroy the barriers to creativity, to marry creativity to the pursuit of excellence, and, most impressive, to sustain a culture of disciplined creativity during setbacks and success. Catmull’s book is quickly becoming the latest bible for the show business crowd.” —The New York Times “The most practical and deep book ever written by a practitioner on the topic of innovation.” —Prof. [Catmull] uses Pixar’s triumphs and near-disasters to outline a system for managing people in creative businesses—one in which candid criticism is delivered sensitively, while individuality and autonomy are not strangled by a robotic corporate culture.” — Financial Times “A wonderful new book . An immensely readable and rewarding book that will challenge and inspire readers to make their workplaces hotbeds of creativity.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Punctuated with surprising tales of how the company’s films were developed and the company’s financial struggles, Catmull shares insights about harnessing talent, creating teams, protecting the creative process, candid communications, organizational structures, alignment, and the importance of storytelling. [ Creativity, Inc. ] will delight and inspire creative individuals and their managers, as well as anyone who wants to work ‘in an environment that fosters creativity and problem solving.’” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “For anyone managing anything, and particularly those trying to manage creative teams, Catmull is like a kind, smart godfather guiding us toward managing wisely, without losing our souls, and in a way that works toward greatness. What Ed Catmull shares instead is his astute experience that creativity isn’t strictly a well of ideas, but an alchemy of people. In Creativity, Inc. Ed reveals, with commonsense specificity and honesty, examples of how not to get in your own way and how to realize a creative coalescence of art, business, and innovation.” —George Lucas “This is the best book ever written on what it takes to build a creative organization. Ed Catmull is co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and president of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation.
Reviews
"Managers, as well as anyone who wants to better understand how companies work and what elements are necessary to make and keep them successful, will appreciate Catmull’s insight on leadership, nurturing creative environment, and protecting it from invisible threats. After reading the book, I constantly find myself quoting the concepts and examples described there when talking to my husband or friends about their jobs or my own and discussing what works, what doesn’t, and why."
"Ed shared several amusing experiences creating these magnificent movies to illustrate management concepts."
"Mr. Catmull presents an impressive analysis of how corporate culture can negatively impact creativity, even when corporate leaders proclaim their support for creativity and truly believe they are doing everything they can to foster and support it."
"Whether you're just a Pixar fan, or you're looking for ways to improve your company, you can't go wrong with this book."
"It tells of how the company was formed and the various challenges and changes along the way as well as how the people in charge are constantly attempting to maintain Pixar as a separate entity from Disney after being purchased by the latter while fixing Disney's animation studios and making Disney a world class entity itself."
"The book is definitely about creativity and the creative process, but it's equally about business and management."
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Best Television

Johnny Carson
The dishiest read of the year.” – Janet Maslin, “Ten Favorite Books of the Year,” New York Times. “Here’s Johnny!” Probably everyone in America knows the phrase, whether they watched every episode of The Tonight Show or none because they had to go to bed early on school nights. Bushkin explains why Carson, a voracious (and very talented) womanizer, felt he always had to be married; why he couldn’t visit his son in the hospital and wouldn’t attend his mother’s funeral; and much more. Featured Photos of Johnny Carson Frank Sinatra and Johnny Carson during rehearsals for the 1981 Reagan Inaugural Gala. Carson, Bushkin says, “was endlessly witty and enormously fun to be around,” but he also could be “the nastiest son of a bitch on earth.” The text provides multiple examples of both sides of Carson’s Mr. Hyde personality, but, of course, it is the petulant, boozing, womanizing Johnny that will draw the most attention: throwing tantrums over perceived slights at Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, at having to wait for a suite at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, at Joan Rivers’ decision to launch a competing late-night show without first informing Carson, and, above all, at his mother’s refusal to acknowledge both Carson’s success and his lavish gifts to her (his mother’s coldness, Bushkin and many others believe, was at the root of Carson’s own iciness in personal relationships).
Reviews
"Perhaps the saddest Hollywood bio in recent memory, Henry Bushkin's "Johnny Carson" paints a vivid picture of a kind of genius savant. It is difficult to square our memories of the genial, gracious late-night star who chatted up tourists playing "Stump the Band" with Bushkin's portrait of the compulsive, drunken womanizer who nearly got himself rubbed out for trying to take a Mob figure's girl to bed. There's a searing view of Carson suffering at the hands of his cruel, critical Midwestern mother -- her refusal to express love or approval explains a lot of his pain and relationship failures. Not a word about Carson's comedic technique, the mannerisms he stole from Jack Benny and Fred Allen, or the day-to-day workings of the little universe he controlled, "The Tonight Show." He mimicked too many of Carson's self-destructive tendencies, divorcing his wife to gad about the south of France with Johnny with stars like Joyce DeWitt or Mary Hart on his arm, billing everything back to NBC. Fascinating and highly readable, "Johnny Carson" is not just a show business memoir but a Shakespearean tragedy: a Boswellian view of a tragic hero of our culture, a genius beloved by millions who made himself unlovable."
"This book shows the seamier side of Johnny's life as well as talks about his successes."
"Apparently Carson knew he could manipulate people with precisely those two levers. And he had a pitiful sense of entitlement, in part because his mother had denied him love. Still a good read for anyone who wants to understand the best late night talk show host who ever lived."
"The writer was Carson's lawyer, and my natural distrust of lawyers has led me to think that he might have been a little harsh on some of the people (Carson's last wife, for instance), while leaving himself smelling like a rose (for the most part)."
"As soon as I saw the author's name, I wondered if the book about Carson was by the man that Carson called him by, Bombastic Bushkin of Bevery Hills."
"Wanting to know what kind of man would put up with Johnny for all of these years was my main reason for getting it AND I thought there would be more on Doc and Ed but thats ok. Ed is only going to say nice things (RIP) and Docs mind Im sure is on other things. Well its a good read if you like Johnny Carson and want to know what the true man was like and what went on behind closed doors."
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Best Pop Culture

The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory
Seabrook takes us into a strange and surprising world, full of unexpected and vivid characters, as he traces the growth of this new approach to hit-making from its obscure origins in early 1990s Sweden to its dominance of today's Billboard charts. The stories of artists like Katy Perry, Britney Spears, and Rihanna, as well as expert songsmiths like Max Martin, Stargate, Ester Dean, and Dr. Luke, The Song Machine shows what life is like in an industry that has been catastrophically disrupted—spurring innovation, competition, intense greed, and seductive new products. John Seabrook combines a love of music and an appreciation for personalities to take us on a starry journey from Stockholm and London to New York and Orlando showing how creativity gets discovered, polished, and packaged. -- Walter Isaacson, author of 'The Innovators' and 'Steve Jobs'. "In The Song Machine, John Seabrook tells of a cutthroat and fascinating industry, where readers discover the gifted musical maestros who orchestrate hit after hit but rarely get their name in print. John Seabrook has a marvelous ear for language - and perfect pitch when it comes to music journalism."
Reviews
"Fascinating insight into the production of today's hits."
"Good insight into the modern recording industry, but at the same time a little generalized and superficial."
"Great book if you want to read about today's music industry!"
"Great narration, interesting content."
"As a musician I found it vindicating knowing how pop music is really produced I actually gained a new appreciation for some of the artists mentioned, some of them are just part of the larger machine."
"While I'm not a big fan of the process it is a fascinating look into music business as it has evolved."
"Well written, fun insight into the world of pop music."
"Really great insight into the modern music business."
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Best Activities, Puzzles & Games

Molly's Game: The True Story of the 26-Year-Old Woman Behind the Most Exclusive, High-Stakes Underground Poker Game in the World
Now a major motion picture, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin and starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, and Michael Cera—the true story of "Hollywood’s poker princess" who gambled everything, won big, then lost it all. When Molly Bloom was a little girl growing up in a small Colorado town, she watched her brothers win medals, ace tests, and receive high praise from everyone they met. Her clients ranged from iconic stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck to politicians and financial titans so powerful they moved markets and changed the course of history. With rich detail, Molly describes a world that until now has been shrouded in glamour, privilege, and secrecy, one where she fearlessly took on the Russian and Italian mobs—until she met the one adversary she could not outsmart, even though she had justice on her side: the United States government.
Reviews
"Did not want the book to end."
"I did not read this book, bought it for someone else....they liked it."
"Loved the movie!"
"The book was in excellent condition."
"Great story, well written, fast paced."
"Enjoyed the book."
"good book; haven't see the movie, but it is a quick read."
"Loved the book and saw the movie."
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