A Curious Discovery: An Entrepreneur's Story
Hendricks is the founder and chairman of Discovery Communications, a global mass-media entertainment company consisting of 28 network brands including the flagship Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, and the Science Channel. Inspired by such classic television documentaries as Walter Cronkite’s The Twentieth Century and Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, Hendricks boldly set out to create an all-educational cable network to air documentary, nature, and science programming 24 hours a day. That was in 1982, when cable was still an unproven medium. How he went from a $100,000 second mortgage on his home and the brink of bankruptcy to a $23-billion media empire is one of the most engaging entrepreneurial stories you’re likely to read and also one of the most personal. From his anecdotes about growing up in 1960s segregated Alabama to his recounting of a courting by the enigmatic Ted Turner, Hendricks’ humility, sincerity, and prescience shine through. Along the way, you may even get a behind-the-scenes look at one of your favorite shows, such as Mythbusters, Shark Week, American Chopper, How It’s Made, and Planet Earth. --David Siegfried