Cable Cowboy: John Malone And The Rise Of The Modern Cable Business

Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the Rise of the Modern Cable Business

An inside look at a cable titan and his industryJohn Malone, hailed as one of the great unsung heroes of our age by some and reviled by others as a ruthless robber baron, is revealed as a bit of both in Cable Cowboy. For more than twenty-five years, Malone has dominated the cable television industry, shaping the world of entertainment and communications, first with his cable company TCI and later with Liberty Media. Written with Malone's unprecedented cooperation, the engaging narrative brings this controversial capitalist and businessman to life. Cable Cowboy is at once a penetrating portrait of Malone's complex persona, and a captivating history of the cable TV industry. Told in a lively style with exclusive details, the book shows how an unassuming copper strand started as a backwoods antenna service and became the digital nervous system of the U.S., an evolution that gave U.S. consumers the fastest route to the Internet. Cable Cowboy reveals the forces that propelled this pioneer to such great heights, and captures the immovable conviction and quicksilver mind that have defined John Malone throughout his career.From the Inside FlapPraise for CABLE COWBOY"Cable Cowboy is a first-rate work by a first-rate reporter-excellent, original research on a topic that deserves it."-Bryan Burrough, coauthor of Barbarians at the Gate"With skill and precision, author Mark Robichaux paints a portrait of a man who is both fox and lamb, cunningly ruthless and surprisingly genuine. . . . We get to watch a man who plays chess against opponents who merely play checkers. And we get a really good read."-Ken Auletta, author of Media Man: Ted Turner's Improbable Empire and Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way"John Malone's remarkable climb [is] a tale worthy of a great cinematic Western. For the first time, we get a sharp picture of the man behind the mogul, an unflinching portrait of one of the business world's sharpest dealmakers. I dare you to put it down."-Tom King, author of The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood"Robichaux has provided a smart assessment of the cable industry through the wild narrative of John Malone . . . and turned it into a tale that manages to be both colorful and informative."-Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, former chairman of CNN, and author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life"A terrific saga of American enterprise-how lonely wires on windswept hillsides were stretched and spun into the Information Superhighway-as seen through the remarkable career of cable television's greatest entrepreneur."-David Von Drehle, author of Triangle: The Fire That Changed AmericaFrom the Back CoverPraise for CABLE COWBOY"Cable Cowboy is a first-rate work by a first-rate reporter-excellent, original research on a topic that deserves it."-Bryan Burrough, coauthor of Barbarians at the Gate"With skill and precision, author Mark Robichaux paints a portrait of a man who is both fox and lamb, cunningly ruthless and surprisingly genuine. . . . We get to watch a man who plays chess against opponents who merely play checkers. And we get a really good read."-Ken Auletta, author of Media Man: Ted Turner's Improbable Empire and Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way"John Malone's remarkable climb [is] a tale worthy of a great cinematic Western. For the first time, we get a sharp picture of the man behind the mogul, an unflinching portrait of one of the business world's sharpest dealmakers. I dare you to put it down."-Tom King, author of The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood"Robichaux has provided a smart assessment of the cable industry through the wild narrative of John Malone . . . and turned it into a tale that manages to be both colorful and informative."-Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, former chairman of CNN, and author of Benjamin Franklin: An American