Disney War / James B. Stewart

Documents the fierce executive battle for control of the Walt Disney Company, in an account that discusses how Michael Eisner lost his chairmanship and how the conflict reflects modern-day American capitalism and popular culture.

The Late Shift : Letterman, Leno, And The Network Battle For The Night / By Bill Carter

Recounts CBS’s wooing of late night talk show host David Letterman and how Letterman and Jay Leno faced off over who would host the Tonight Show.

From Scratch : Inside The Food Network / Allen Salkin

A behind-the-scenes history of the Food Network, published to coincide with its 20th anniversary, draws on inside access and interviews with hundreds of leading contributors to trace its rise from a tiny startup to a billion-dollar media and cultural juggernaut.

Live From New York : The Complete, Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live As Told By Its Stars, Writers, And Guests / James Andrew Miller And Tom Shales

A lavish history of the seminal, long-running television series draws on backstage anecdotes and uncensored reminiscences to create an entertaining oral history of Saturday Night Live from the perspective of its stars, guests, and writers, including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Martin Short, and many others.

Hershey : Milton S. Hershey’s extraordinary life of wealth, empire, and utopian dreams / Michael D’Antonio

One of the twentieth century’s most eccentric and idealistic titans of industry, Milton S. Hershey brought affordable milk chocolate to America, creating and then satisfying the chocoholic urges of millions. He pioneered techniques of branding, mass production, and marketing and gained widespread fame as the Chocolate King.

Slimed! : An Oral History Of Nickelodeon’s Golden Age / Mathew Klickstein

Slimed! is the first oral history to chronicle the surprisingly complex, wonderfully nostalgic, and impressively compelling story of Nickelodeon, the first kids’ network. Compiled from hundreds of original interviews with writers, actors, producers, artists, and other Nick alumni, this is the incredible story of Nickelodeon straight from those who made it happen

I Want My MTV : The Uncensored Story Of The Music Video Revolution / Craig Marks And Rob Tannenbaum

Presents the first decade of the MTV network, developing from a radical programming concept to a defining network for a generation and a force in the worlds of music, television, sports, fashion, and politics.

The Pixar Touch : The Making Of A Company / By David A. Price

Charts the turbulent history of Pixar Animation Studios in the context of the changing fortunes of computer animation, discussing the rocky early years, the volatile personal relationships involved, and the making of the studio’s innovative films.

Top Of The Rock : The Rise And Fall Of Must-See TV : An Oral History / Warren Littlefield ; With T.R. Pearson

From 1993 through 1998, NBC exploded every conventional notion of what a broadcast network could accomplish with the greatest prime-time line-up in television history. Here is the funny, splashy, irresistible insiders’ account of the greatest era in television history — told by the actors, writers, directors, producers, and the network executives who made it happen … and watched it all fall apart.

Insidetracks : A First-Hand History Of Popular Music From The World’s Greatest Record Producers And Engineers / Richard Buskin ; Foreword By Brian Wilson

Record producers and engineers talk about their work with the world’s greatest musicians, including the likes of Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, and Nirvana, among others.

Marvel Comics : the untold story / Sean Howe

Interweaves history, anecdotes, and analysis with more than one hundred interviews with Marvel insiders to reveal how Marvel, which introduced brightly costumed caped crusaders in the 1960s, became one of the most dominant pop cultural forces in contemporary America.

List Created 1/10/15 – James Hartmann