The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present
Book by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present is a trade paperback reference work by the American television historians Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, first published by Ballantine Books in 1979.
History
The 1979 book publication was by Tim Brooks at NBC, who was then head of that network's research, and Earle Marsh of CBS, who was a manager there of special research projects,[1] and it was the book's first edition.[citation needed] According to Aaron Barnhart (as told to him by author Tim Brooks), the original volume "almost didn't get printed... because publishers were worried 'that it was too big.'" (with its 3,000 shows covered).[1] Between the 6th and 9th editions, Brooks and Marsh expanded an already "hefty" paperback from 5,000 to 6,500 shows covered ("adding about [a] half an inch to the spine").[1] According to Barnhart, "no listing has ever been deleted or edited for space in the 30-year history of [T]he Complete Directory".[1]
The title of later editions[clarification needed] include the words "and cable".[citation needed] The ninth edition came out in 2007; in it, co-author Tim Brooks stated that the ninth edition may be the last one released of the book.[1]
Awards and recognition
The 1979 publication won a 1980 U.S. National Book Award, then known as the "American Book Awards",[1] in the category of General Reference Books—Paperback,[2] as the work was published direct to paperback.[citation needed][a] (This is why the tag, "American Book Award Winner!", appears on the book cover beginning with the second edition.[1])
Critical reception
As television reporter and critic Aaron Barnhart notes, Brooks and Marsh's work appeared alongside existing references by the acclaimed Erik Barnouw (Tube of Plenty) and by TV writer Les Brown of The New York Times (Encyclopedia of Television); despite these, The Complete Directory was "immediately hailed as the best of the bunch, more comprehensive and a more enjoyable read". Barnhart's praise is uniformly high, referring to it as "one of the seven wonders of show business", and noting that the comprehensive nature of the work is "a testament to the vision of [the] two men who [took] great pride in handcrafting American TV's greatest single reference guide, online or offline".[1]
