The first half of the book was great, with tales of the early days of live TV-- the sets, the lights, the props, the big mechanical (and often malfunctioning) game board.
The book then delves into the changes the industry weathered-- going to videotape, competition from big prize and flashier shows, etc. Blumenthal peters out toward the end, with lengthy paragraphs on how to be a good contestant and what producers look for.
He does name names, but only in a good way. Blumenthal does talk about bad shows, bad producers, and bad hosts-- but he leaves their names out. I didn't have a major problem with that. Many aren't around to defend themselves, and his descriptions give readers a solid idea of what was happening.
A big thumbs up-- but only if you like the genre. The rest of you might be a little bored.
While I'm yammering about game shows again, please let me note the recent passing of Howard Felsher. He helped fix the 50's version of "Tic Tac Dough." Felsher went on to produce several other game shows, including the Richard Dawson hosted "Family Feud." Howard Felsher was 90 years old.
