Inside the Rise of HBO: A Personal History of the Company That Transformed Television Paperback – Illustrated, 30 July 2015

It is not a very insightful book but rather a survey of TV/HBO history. It is a name dropping book that might broaden your vocabulary of film/tv titles and tv but overall I don’t feel enlightened.

What a great book!! This history of HBO from its inception to the company it's become in the mid 2010s is a remarkably interesting and thorough read from beginning to end. Bill Mesce, Jr gives much insight from an insider's perspective as well as gives a quick rundown on the beginnings of cable TV itself so that anyone coming to the book that didn't know will get a brief background and people who pick up the book will get a quick reminder and may even learn a little extra.Mr. Mesce's writing style is inviting and makes the book read like a monologue from a friend. This not only made the book an involving and educational read, but a fun book as well. I couldn't put it down until I read the last page and gained a lot of knowledge about the workings, beginnings and growth of HBO throughout the years.Great book on very interesting subject matter. I've always wanted to read a book about the beginnings and early years of HBO in particular and this was very thorough and satisfying. I enjoyed it so much, I'll be looking for more of Mr. Mesce's books in the future too.

Being that the author was billed as an "insider", I was really hoping to hear about the early days of HBO when operations were on a shoestring and it had to make due with filling the air with some oddball programming and various Marty Glickman negotiated sports packages, along with movies. Unfortunately the 1972-1977 period is largely glossed over without much more than a casual reference.

Thorough history of the rise and dominance of HBO. Would love to read an updated version depicting the competition between Netflix, Amazon and FX.

Excellent...behind the scenes stories of our favorite shows on HBO...!