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Book reviews for "Corr,_O._Casey" sorted by average review score:

King: The Bullitts of Seattle and Their Communications Empire
Published in Hardcover by University of Washington Press (1996)
Authors: O. Casey Corr and O. Casey Carr
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Great book on Seattle
This is one of the best books about the Northwest. Corr does a great job blending the story of an activist family with the rise of Seattle after World War II. Next to "Skid Road," my favorite on Seattle. Should be a movie. A great female lead character in Dorothy Bullitt.

Once Proud King
Corr's book is more valuable than the narrow title suggests. More than a history of a powerful Seattle family and its TV-Radio empire, Corr's larger theme is the post-war growth of Seattle, the price of its progress and the universal tension between idealism and commerce. This story is interesting because Dorothy Bullitt did not set out to make money in the new medium of TV. Rather, she and her son, Stimson, created a new media force that shook up the sleepy newspaper-dominated local media. Well into the 70's KING-TV scooped many big stories. Corr does a masterful job of tracing the early deviations from the "King ideal"--Dorothy's dumping of her son in favor of Ancil Payne, the shift from hard news to TV celebrities, and the ultimate cash out by Payne and Dorothy's daughters. Along the way Corr paints many colorful portraits--the Machiavellian Payne, Dorothy's hopelessly dysfunctional grandchildren, the bright and attractive Jean Enersen--the lone remaining link to the glory days, the irasicble Don McGaffin--a throwback to the hard drinking, hard working, macho muckrakers of the turn of the century, and the glib, shallow Jim Foreman--the self-described "ratings machine" and low water mark for KING's television journalism. There is much to savor in this well written and colorful book. One hopes that Corr will soon devote his considerable talent to a subject with broader appeal.

A fascinating tale interesting to anyone interested in radio
Corr has done lovers of radio, and television, specifically those of us in the Pacific Northwest a tremendous favor, capturing the drama of the Bullitt family. His writing is lively and the story is compelling in its narritive detail. You'll learn of the struggles, gambles and tremendous paybacks the Bulletts made as they began and grew their broadcasting kingdom. If I had any criticism, it would be that the book is a little short of details concerning KING-AM and KGW-AM's heydays as Top 40 Rock N Roll outlets. The author completely fails to include, KINK-FM, one of the most interesting and hybrid FM radio stations in the country. If you are at all interested in radio, television or Northwest business history, this is definately a book worthy of purchasing.


Money from Thin Air: The Story of Craig McCaw, the Visionary who Invented the Cell Phone Industry, and His Next Billion-Dollar Idea
Published in Hardcover by Times Books (13 June, 2000)
Author: O. Casey Corr
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Boring...
The long title first struck me very impressively. However, as I went on reading the book, I find it frustrating and uninteresting. It's hard to write a book with a boring life (no offense, Mr. McCaws). But rather than diving into how the McCaws from not a nerd, a technologist, or futurist becomes successful, the author tries really hard (but unsuccessful) to make McCaws as a great visionary. If you look at the reference section in the book, you will see that most materials for this book came from newspaper. The author has to admit in his book that McCaws didn't spend much time to be interviewed either. Besides, some readers might find the book funny and silly in a technical point of view. Well, I have a feeling that the author doesn't have much insights on the wireless industry. I just read "AOL.COM" before reading this book. And in comparision, this book is really a frustration even though I really want to know more about McCaws, a local well-known family.

The Boring Billionaire
This book is obviously the story of Craig McCaw and how he made his fortune in the cellular phone market. The book does a good job of summarizing Craig's life from a family tragedy that shaped his business life, to his strong belief in cellular communication and how that made him a millionaire.

The good news/bad news is that he eschews the fame and glory of a typical egomaniac like Donald Trump. It's great from a role model standpoint but since McCaw is so protective of his privacy and is around so few people, it was difficult to write a glamorous tale of an unglamorous life. Particularly since there is no mention of McCaw ever being interviewed by the author. Therefore, you are left with the history of cellular phone development in America coupled with mention of McCaw's unique management style.

That was enough for me as I had no knowledge of the business and it was interesting to see how a conservative man leveraged himself to great wealth. But don't buy this book if you want stories of drugs, models or other scandals. This story is nothing more than a successful business tale and that is enough.

Reads fast
Very insightful, quick reading book about one of the nation's most unique business leaders, a real character. There should be a sequel about McCaw handling the big shakeout in telecom and about his pet project, saving Keiko the whale. I hope Corr does another book.


The Chinese Red Army: Campaigns and Politics Since 1949
Published in Hardcover by Schocken Books (1988)
Authors: Gerard H. Corr and O. Casey Corr
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