A Passion to Win: An Autobiography

In one of the great business autobiographies of this or any other year, Sumner Redstone, at age 77, reveals, blow-by-blow, how he battled his way to control and ownership of a vast media and entertainment empire that includes Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, Blockbuster, Simon & Schuster, and now CBS. This is not the story of "a modern manager" such as a Jack Welch or a Gerald Levin; rather it is the story of the epic rise of a media giant, in the grand tradition of the Hearsts, Paleys, and Pulitzers. Redstone can proudly exclaim, "I AM VIACOM!" A Passion to Win tells the whole extraordinary, inside story of his battles and friendships with Barry Diller, Paramount head Martin Davis; his abrupt firing of CEO Frank Biondi and Simon & Schuster CEO Richard Snyder, among others; and finally in an $85 billion merger, loosening his powerful grip to consent to CBS chief Mel Karmazin as Viacom COO. But the book also provides countless practical insights into his credo of "Content is King" and his amazing talent for negotiation -- perhaps unrivaled in the entire industry. At the heart of the book is the relentless drive that helped Redstone overcome every obstacle in the way of his $10 billion takeover of Paramount, one of the toughest and nastiest battles in modern media history. Contents Acknowledgments Prologue: The Fire This Time 1 Blockbuster Tanks 2 Breaking the Codes 3 National Amusements 4 Stick to What You Know 5 Viacom -- the Opening 6 Viacom -- the Battle 7 Viacom -- Running the Show 8 I Want My MTV 9 The Paramount Deal 10 The Deal from Hell 11 To Hell and Back 12 The Shakeout 13 We Are All Viacom 14 The Turnaround 15 Eye on the Future Index