This book is very readable and well researched. I finished reading it today after spending a several weeks pondering growing up in the 50's and 60's times of Ed Sullivan.
Wow, and what a blowback to what seems like another life and time. He certainly impacted my early years with many images I will never forget and was an iconic part of my childhood. As an older teenager I stopped paying attention to his show except if there was a special rock band I wanted to catch.
He was on the air every Sunday night from 1948 until 1971. Our great grandparents lived in our home with us from the mid 50's into the early 60's and Nana insisted on watching Ed Sullivan every Sunday. It was a family ritual like so many other American households. This is what Ed Sullivan was striving for all those years.
Some of my memorable moments were of course The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, that Italian mouse puppet Topo Gigio, the numerous magicians, plate spinners, comedians, vaudeville superstars, etc, etc.
It was fascinating to read about Sullivan's recognizing and promoting black performers at the time despite the terrible racist backlash he often received including from his corporate sponsors.
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