Take a photo of a barcode or cover
224 reviews for:
Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Hollywood Media Empire
James B. Stewart, Rachel Abrams
3.69 AVERAGE
224 reviews for:
Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Hollywood Media Empire
James B. Stewart, Rachel Abrams
3.69 AVERAGE
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
What a mess! (The story, not the book.) I think that non-fiction is just not for me. There were some fascinating details and drama, but I never remembered who anybody was, and everyone was pretty terrible.
dark
funny
informative
medium-paced
dark
informative
medium-paced
This book chronicles the chaotic fall of Sumner Redstone’s personal fortune and the media companies he built from the ground up: CBS and Viacom, eventually Paramount.
The first half or so of the book deals with Sumner and two women whom he had sexual relations with Manuela Herzer and Sydney Holland. They both attempted to use their access to his fortune to cut him off from the rest of his family, have themselves added to his Trust fund upon his passing, and generally take control of the companies that he owned: CBS and Viacom. This half of the book, to me, was boring and exhausting. You can only read so much about elder abuse and greed before it becomes fairly repetitive and repulsive. Something about the crassness of these two women and their scheme is so terrible that it almost made me put the book down.
The second half of the book deals with the power struggle between CBS’s long time CEO, Les Moonves, and Shari Redstone, Sumner’s daughter and the child who stood to inherit control of the companies upon Sumner’s passing. This part was more “Succession”-like (as touted on the book jacket) and it was interesting to follow the story amidst the legal teams assembled, fighting, and speaking for each individual or corporate interest. Eventually, Moonves is toppled by sexual harassment claims from an alarming number of women over a roughly 10-year period that Abrams and Stewart chronicle throughout the build-up of the power struggle. Moonves leaves the CEO position disgraced and without the golden parachute that was all but promised to him.
Abrams and Stewart do a fine job reporting the multilayered story piece by piece. They have certainly done the research and conducted enough interviews to present a cohesive story for the average reader. The analysis in the epilogue about why this all occurred was light. They leave that up to us to ponder: How can family dynamics get so combative that lawyers are needed to talk to your own children? Why do women hesitate to speak up about traumatic experiences from their past, particularly when their allegations involve powerful executives?
Despite occasionally getting bogged down in the first half, “Unscripted” ultimately delivers an interesting narrative that skillfully weaves together personal drama, corporate intrigue, and a memorable host of characters.
The first half or so of the book deals with Sumner and two women whom he had sexual relations with Manuela Herzer and Sydney Holland. They both attempted to use their access to his fortune to cut him off from the rest of his family, have themselves added to his Trust fund upon his passing, and generally take control of the companies that he owned: CBS and Viacom. This half of the book, to me, was boring and exhausting. You can only read so much about elder abuse and greed before it becomes fairly repetitive and repulsive. Something about the crassness of these two women and their scheme is so terrible that it almost made me put the book down.
The second half of the book deals with the power struggle between CBS’s long time CEO, Les Moonves, and Shari Redstone, Sumner’s daughter and the child who stood to inherit control of the companies upon Sumner’s passing. This part was more “Succession”-like (as touted on the book jacket) and it was interesting to follow the story amidst the legal teams assembled, fighting, and speaking for each individual or corporate interest. Eventually, Moonves is toppled by sexual harassment claims from an alarming number of women over a roughly 10-year period that Abrams and Stewart chronicle throughout the build-up of the power struggle. Moonves leaves the CEO position disgraced and without the golden parachute that was all but promised to him.
Abrams and Stewart do a fine job reporting the multilayered story piece by piece. They have certainly done the research and conducted enough interviews to present a cohesive story for the average reader. The analysis in the epilogue about why this all occurred was light. They leave that up to us to ponder: How can family dynamics get so combative that lawyers are needed to talk to your own children? Why do women hesitate to speak up about traumatic experiences from their past, particularly when their allegations involve powerful executives?
Despite occasionally getting bogged down in the first half, “Unscripted” ultimately delivers an interesting narrative that skillfully weaves together personal drama, corporate intrigue, and a memorable host of characters.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
NYT Notable Books 2023: 48/100
This story was wild and sad and so disheartening. It's wild what you can get away with when you're a wealthy white man. It was sometimes hard to follow what was happening because there were so many people and companies involved, but honestly even without all the details of who was who it was enough. Shari might have been the only person in this book with any sense or decency and the she's treated awfully the entire time. So yeah. Hard read, worth it if you're into media moguls I guess.
This story was wild and sad and so disheartening. It's wild what you can get away with when you're a wealthy white man. It was sometimes hard to follow what was happening because there were so many people and companies involved, but honestly even without all the details of who was who it was enough. Shari might have been the only person in this book with any sense or decency and the she's treated awfully the entire time. So yeah. Hard read, worth it if you're into media moguls I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment
medium-paced
This is the second James Stewart nonfiction book I've listened to and it was a very interesting tale. I still prefer DisneyWar but for all that I learned through this one, I think it's worth a read/listen.
Echoing the sentiments of others, this book feels a little disjointed. The first half is about Sumner Redstone, his rise, fall, and the people fighting for his favour as he was slowly withering away. The second is about CBS, Viacom, Les Moonves, and the effect of Me Too on Hollywood and corporate America. The connection between them being Sheri Redstone, Sumner's daughter, who fought off the women the sought to take advantage of her father, and who navigated an antagonistic corporate world and bumped heads with Les Moonves (who turned out to have many stories about him come out during Me Too). It's odd then that Sherri feels almost like a secondary presence in the book compared to Redstone, Holland, Herzer, Moonves, and the rest.
The epilogue is probably the strongest part as it leaves off at Sumner Redstone's funeral. It ties together a lot introduced in the beginning, and is a satisfying conclusion for readers.
Echoing the sentiments of others, this book feels a little disjointed. The first half is about Sumner Redstone, his rise, fall, and the people fighting for his favour as he was slowly withering away. The second is about CBS, Viacom, Les Moonves, and the effect of Me Too on Hollywood and corporate America. The connection between them being Sheri Redstone, Sumner's daughter, who fought off the women the sought to take advantage of her father, and who navigated an antagonistic corporate world and bumped heads with Les Moonves (who turned out to have many stories about him come out during Me Too). It's odd then that Sherri feels almost like a secondary presence in the book compared to Redstone, Holland, Herzer, Moonves, and the rest.
The epilogue is probably the strongest part as it leaves off at Sumner Redstone's funeral. It ties together a lot introduced in the beginning, and is a satisfying conclusion for readers.
Interesting but enraging.
The fact that no one truly pays for their behavior is not surprising but still disappointing. Because everyone was so despicable, it’s hard to maintain interest in these power-addicted people’s lives.
The fact that no one truly pays for their behavior is not surprising but still disappointing. Because everyone was so despicable, it’s hard to maintain interest in these power-addicted people’s lives.