Rating: 
Summary: A Spectacular Portrait of a Frightening Time
Review: "The Operator" makes for compelling reading. King has done a tremendous job of capturing a frightening time in Hollywood, and showing readers what made it so frightening. This book is not just about Geffen but about all the lives he touched, helped and often ruined. Some of the icons of the 80s and 90s figure powerfully into this story--The Eagles, Neil Young, Michael Eisner, Spielberg, Katzenberg and Nirvana. King's portrait of a man who was not afraid to burn bridges, betray his mentors, and ingratiate himself with people he loathed is a classic tale of the lonely but powerful maverick who has great skills but also severe character flaws. The tragedy of Geffen is that there is much to admire in this man, but it is impossible to overlook the pain he caused so many people who were apparently loyal to him. The book is balanced; I understand why Geffen is upset by the book but I think an objective reader comes away with equal measures of fear and respect for the man. In a sense I think King has done Geffen a favor by allowing readers a glimpse of the human component behind the wealth and power. There is no excuse for some of the things Geffen has done, but there is a reason: without psychoanalyzing Geffen, King manages to infer a climate, and provide contour to this man's psyche, that would permit a successful man to behave, at times, with such impunity and disregard for the well being of others. The question at the core of this existential puzzle is: Why would a self-made man with everything do more harm than good? In this book Spielberg is portrayed as a man at the opposite end of the spectrum: a man who is grateful for his success, indebted to the people who helped him achieve it, satisfied with the money he has made, and eager to give something in return. The richer Geffen became, the more good he did, but it is confounding that he hurt so many people in the process, not because they offended him personally but because they sought to be as good at dealmaking as he was. Geffen's most disturbing trait as relayed in this book is his willingness to sabotage the careers of others by manufacturing toxic and unfounded rumors. What is touching is that Geffen seems at points to realize that his best traits are undermined by his worst traits--greed and a vengeful spirit--but seems at a loss to change his behavior. There is a move towards redemption in the final portion of this book, but it is hard to gauge its sincerity. King is a spectacular journalist and I hope he writes more biographies. My only criticisms are that 1) the last fifth of this long book is the weakest portion, not owing to King's prose but simply to the fact that that Geffen's life became less interesting after he sold Geffen, and 2) the book feels as if large sections of the manuscript were omitted, perhaps for legal or length reasons. I would love to see what King left on the cutting room floor. The story of David Geffen is not yet finished and, like Michael Milken, his third act could be a spectacular feat of personal redemption. I think this book sits alongside "Wired," "Outrageous Conduct" and "High Concept" as a truly important book about a watershed but ultimately frightening period for Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: Great inside story about David Geffen with loads of references to other Hollywood players as well. Although the book focuses on Geffen, I feel I have a better understanding of the entertainment industry as a whole. I do not recommend this this book if your goal is to learn what agents or entertainment moguls do from day-to-day. Most of the book focuses on Geffen's personality, relationships, and business deals. Tom King, the author, does a great job of presenting an immense ammount of information in a very organized, clear manner. That said, there are many characters here and it's easy to confuse who is who. If you're curious about the business end of Hollwood, or just looking for a good biography, I suggest you read this book.
Rating:
Summary: solid information, yet slightly biased viewpoint
Review: I burned through the nearly 600 pages of The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood in a couple of weeks. The book is a very quick read. It easily holds the interest of anyone who enjoys books outlining business deals and relationships...especially in the entertainment sector. Not only does it introduce readers to all of the big power players in Hollywood, but also provides much insight as to how one man interacted with the participants of this business, in order to make his own fortune. I found the book to be great, in terms of providing a detailed history of Geffen's business dealings. It gave just the right amount of personal information as well in order to convey the human side of Geffen. What was bothersome about the book was its overly negative attitude towards Geffen. It was painfully obvious that the writer was not an enormous David Geffen fan by 50 pages into the book. By the end, such negativity became cumbersome. It begs the reader to ask: `If Geffen was such a terrible guy, why did people continue to deal with him time after time after time?' I would say that that was the only negative aspect of the book. Other than that, if you are interested in David Geffen, or just the business of entertainment, then I would highly recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: Makes Machiavelli Look Like Snow White!
Review: I found this to be a fascinating, can't-put-it-down read. It's journalistic writing at its best. Tom King tells the story of David Geffen's life so far with many details and lots of insider gossip, but a definite portrait of the man and entrepreneur emerges with almost no editorial comment or interpretation from the author. The first half is better than the second half, but almost all rags-to-riches stories are. Deal-making is deal-making, but even so, Geffen is in a class by himself. King's account of how he got Mo Ostin out of the way so he could negotiate with Steve Ross at Warner Communications will leave you breathless. I walked around at work several days after finishing the book wanting to be like Geffen. Still waiting to get up the nerve to use a favorite Geffen quote: "I don't give a shit what some people think."
Rating: 
Summary: Well Researched
Review: I have followed David Geffen's carrer for many years. I have even written a school paper on his Record Company (Geffen Records), which I have had the pleasure of visiting. This book is very well detailed and gives a vast amount of insight and information.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful insight into Media Guru!
Review: I knew very little about David Geffen before I read this book. I only knew of Geffen Records prior to reading this book. Tom King shows you the devil in Geffen as well as the angel in him. Geffen is ruthless at heart, but is a softy for nearly anything emotional. This book shows you a lot about Geffen and taught me that you never ever give up no matter how rough things can get.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book, Horrifying Subject
Review: I know I'm not being entirely fair, but I couldn't bring myself to rate this book a "5" even though it is thoroughly researched, and the author, Tom King, who died recently, was a very, very good writer. The reason for the "4" rating in two words: David Geffen. Notwithstanding his many contributions to the recording and film industries in particular, and his and phenomenally generous philanthropy, Mr. Geffen is quite simply a completely unappealing person as depicted in this biography and, undoubtedly to many people, in real life as well. However, thanks in large part to the author's talent I still read every word of Mr. Geffen's fascinating climb to the top of the Hollywood -- and financial -- heap. During the past thirty-five years or so (for better, in the case of spearheading the careers of artists such as Joni Mitchell and other singer/songwriters as well as some exceptional motion pictures and his "liberal" politics; and for worse in the cases of some of those heavy-metal noise machines promulgated by Geffen Records and a few pretty awful motion pictures), Mr. Geffen unquestionably has left his mark on history. Unfortunately, he has been absolutely ruthless in doing so. Mr. Geffen comes across in this book as a selfish and greedy creature for whom (literally) billions of dollars still isn't "enough." Maybe the irony of Mr. Geffen's life (so far), and the subliminal message of this book, is that money truly can't buy happiness. I highly recommend this book but with fair warning: Once you get to the end, you'll probably feel like sticking your finger down your throat. I wish Tom King had had time to have channeled his exceptional journalistic and writing talents towards more appealling subjects for other books.
Rating:
Summary: very interesting Book
Review: I think Tom King did a Good Job here bringing out the Many Sides of David Geffen.you name it in Hollywood&Geffen has done it&done it with alot of Success.this Book Explores His Business mind sense&various details.considering how He started out in the Biz&where He ended up speaks volumes.but like so many other Hollywood stories you pay a price for all the Money&Power it's another interesting trade off to say the least.this is a Book made for folks that like to hear about how Business goes down in Hollywood.Very Interesting to say the least.
Rating: 
Summary: CHER, MARLO AND MARKY MARK ... AND QUITE THE BORE
Review: Long before he flung open the closet door back in 1992 and declared his homosexuality, David Geffen made news. Big news. Really big news. His is the life --- from college drop-out to mailroom clerk to founder of record labels and a movie company --- that makes a biography such as the one Tom King has written so lengthy ... and often lumbering. King had access to Geffen and hundreds of people in and outside of Geffen's circle of power. This is Superman as Supermogul: Saving pal Calvin Klein from bankruptcy (it was Geffen's idea to out Marky Mark in that series of memorable underwear ads), paying for experimental surgery for dying pal Dawn Steel, wooing (and almost marrying) galpals Cher (whom King says was Geffen's "first fully-functional heterosexual relationship") and Marlo Thomas to finally settling boy with assorted boytoys, unselfishly donating some of his $3 billion to fight AIDS. So many details, so little substance. This is a meticulously researched, though ultimately superficial, look at the bravo and bullying, the temper and talent that have made David Geffen the builder, buyer and seller of the New Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: What a Hard Life
Review: My friends and I sometimes have conversations debating if you have to be a manipulative, take no prisoners, hard charging bully to make it to the top in the business world. Judging from this book, this is certainly what you need to do to make to the top in the music business. The author does a good job of making you not really like the subject of the unauthorized biography starting on about page 2. With that being said, he is very successful in his career so I don't think we can fault him. There is a good portion of interesting gossip details through out the whole book and enough famous name dropping it is like the guest list to the Peoples Choice Awards. Overall, this is a fun and interesting book that will keep you interested until the end.
| 
