Born to Be Wired - by John Malone (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Born to Be Wired tells the story of John Malone, the influential but little-known force behind major media and tech transformations--from HBO and Discovery to Formula One and SiriusXM. Known as the "cable cowboy," Malone recounts how he helped wire America and shape the modern internet through strategic deals and visionary thinking. Blending personal reflection with business insight, the book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of media, entertainment, and technology."--

Book Synopsis

If you've ever streamed a show on HBO Max, seen a Formula One race, hummed a tune on SiriusXM, bought concert tickets via Ticketmaster, or watched an Atlanta Braves game, you've crossed paths with John Malone. You just didn't know it.

John Malone remains a stranger to most people, though millions have been touched by the technologies and content he made possible.

In Born to Be Wired, this legendary "cable cowboy" shares stories from behind the scenes of the most transformative deals in media, entertainment, and technology. He recounts the extraordinary saga of how America was wired--how a single copper strand evolved from a rural TV antenna service into a high-speed backbone powering the internet and clearing the path for Amazon, Facebook, and Google. Malone offers an insider's account of launching television's first cable networks--including Discovery, TBS, QVC, and BET--and the strategy behind era-defining mergers, from Warner Bros. Discovery to Live Nation Entertainment. His Liberty Media ventures, including Formula One, have delivered long-term returns often compared to Berkshire Hathaway. More than a business story, this is a personal reflection--from a quiet kid with a mechanic's curiosity to a media visionary confronting the costs and consequences of disruption in an industry he helped reshape.

Trained at the storied Bell Labs and gifted with a mathematical mind, Malone saw patterns in complexity. Where others saw chaos, he saw systems--and reconfigured companies with the precision of an engineer, unlocking value no one else could see.

Sweeping, revealing, and deeply human, Born to Be Wired offers a rare glimpse into the logic--and the life--behind the screen.

Review Quotes

"Revelatory personal history...The story is most compelling as Mr. Malone recounts his maneuverings with other industry power players." --Wall Street Journal

"[John Malone] takes readers into the media trenches. He shares stories of industry-defining deals over the decades alongside the likes of Barry Diller and Ted Turner." --New York Post

"Of all the captains of industry who have transformed what we read, watch and talk about over the last half century, John Malone is among the most influential and the least understood." --New York Times

There are few people in the media industry that John Malone has not sparred with in his half century as the sector's arch dealmaker...Malone is the original US "cable cowboy." --Financial Times

"This is catnip for the business-minded...With surprising vulnerability, a formidable mogul's boardroom recollections offer something to acolytes and detractors alike." --Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

John C. Malone is chairman of Liberty Media Corp., Liberty Broadband Corp., and Liberty Global. He was chief executive officer of Tele-Communications Inc., the largest cable operator in the US, from 1973 to 1999, when its merger closed with AT&T Corp. He is a TV, internet, and digital pioneer widely recognized for his leadership role in media and telecommunications. A philanthropist in medicine and education, he is today one of the largest landowners in America, with most of it set aside for conservation. Malone is also an avid rancher, land manager, conservationist, and horse-trader. He graduated from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and economics, and graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a master's degree in industrial management and a PhD in operations research.