Unplugged: Adventures from MTV to Timbuktu

by Tom Freston

A Gallery Book. Gallery Books has a great book for every reader.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Biography, Memoir, Audiobook, Autobiography, Biography Memoir

320 pages, Hardcover

Published November 18, 2025

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous memoir. Incredibly entertaining and full of invaluable advice, both about business and life more generally. Highly recommend.

[Michael Tallon · Rating 2 out of 5]

After returning to Burma as a recently fired CEO, Tom writes: “Burma was a throwback to the old Asia I once knew before globalism transformed so much of the region.” Gee Tom I wonder how that might have happened. He spent the whole book recounting how he scoured the earth looking for new markets to exploit to spread the vapid monoculture gospel of MTV and then has the nerve to complain when he sees the effects he wrought.

Tom would like the reader to believe he’s a man torn between two worlds, one a thrill seeking nomad and the other an innovative and beloved CEO (on the very first page we find a story about how his subordinates gave him a standing ovation when he was so unfairly terminated). A more careful reading will reveal he was always a greedy capitalist merely cosplaying as a wanderlust hippy.

[kelly duroncelet · Rating 3 out of 5]

classic hagiography as a memoir. it delves much more into his travels than his corporate life to lay out the overarching theme: he’s not like the others. it’s a shame, as the portions of the book dedicated to his time at viacom are far more interesting. noticeably absent is virtually any mention of his personal life as an adult, which is his prerogative, but an interesting omission. easy readin!

[Mediaman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sloppy, drug-induced book that's filled with inaccuracies from a well-regarded guy who should have published something much better.

You start off happy that Freston spares us his childhood and instead jumps right to being an NYU MBA graduate who leaves the advertising world of NYC to spend years traveling the world. Seriously--his early years only take up a few pages.

Then the problems start about page 20--he actually thinks we want to read about all his minor drug-fueled travel stories to the middle of nowhere, not realizing he makes himself look totally idiotic spending months in the desert riding random trucks and sleeping on rat-infested floors with only two sets of clothing.

The reason, of course, is that he's hooked on getting high and not only does drugs casually but travels with friends that smuggle, transport and sell them.

So most of the first hundred pages are a slow go with him in a haze hooking up with other hippies that are proud of screwing the system by mooching off everyone else, screwing women, and living off the smuggling business.

He doesn't get to his career in entertainment until page 106. Just skip to it if you really want to know about MTV. It's his first job in the TV programming field and somehow he talks his way into being there at the very start without any experience or qualifications beyond smuggling drugs and clothing from the Middle East. I'm serious, the folks at the startup MTV thought his smuggling was a positive. Freston claims the guy starting MTV said, "We're looking to hire smart people who have no experience in television." Huh? Doesn't that make them dumb instead of smart when it comes to media?

This is where the truth gets bent as he goes through the history of MTV, and that's because we can verify what he says (unlike his travel tales that can't be verified). He tosses around superlatives with his inaccurate recollections.

Mistakes include him saying that the ad agency he worked for "had invented (and) created As the World Turns, the first network soap opera." Of course, that show wasn't the first TV network soap opera and it would simply take a quick glance at the internet to discover it wasn't even close.

He claims MTV focused on teenagers privately while publicly claiming to be for young adults, and that's because "advertisers pay a higher premium to reach young people." Well maybe that was true at that network if it charged more for teen ads, but that was not a universal media fact. It's about age 25 or so where the ad rates would go up, and most teen-related media at the time (including pop radio) struggled because ad rates were actually lower when the focus was on teens.

When he gets to MTV beginning its programming he's off on the years, claiming it came in "late 1985." Remote Control actually went on the air in December of 1987 as its first scripted show and so the "late 80s" is the period were programming started on the network.

He rushes through most of what MTV is known for, barely touching upon its lack of playing black artists for a long time and the propaganda it called "news." He does take credit for Bill Clinton being elected and one has to wonder why he'd be proud of that. Freston repeats the canard that "1992 had the highest turnout ever for young people, up 20 percent, an increase that has never been beaten." The facts from one online source: "MTV (Rock the Vote)...may have marginally increased turnouts of those between the ages of 18 and 25 to vote. However, the Stanford Social Innovation Review found no evidence" of it being any different than other elections. In fact, there were other elections where more young adults voted. And let's all remember--only 43% of the votes cast for Bill Clinton.

Then there is the inclusion of the grammatically incorrect and bigoted norm today: Freston capitalizes black whenever used in relation to skin color but he goes a step further to use caps for "Black Music" as if it's some official title someone gave it! So we have country music, rock music, pop music, and Black Music? I don't think so, Mr. P.C.

Along the way he unnecessarily mixes in left-skewing politics, though he admits he was a right-wing Libertarian at age 18. His anti-conservative zingers seem like woke filler to make his liberal buddies happy, though a few of them get mocked as well.

His unnecessary praise of the time he illegally visited Fidel Castro should (along with other unlawful things admitted here) get him thrown in jail. Or if he likes foreign countries under communist rule so much, why doesn't he move there permanently?

And the biggest complaint is how he skips quickly through MTV or entertainment ventures other than his travels. His days with infamous Mel Karmazin, Les Moonves, and CBS are summarized in only a couple paragraphs. He speeds through controversial acquisitions and creative successes.

But then the book comes to a full-on stop as he spends almost 20 pages on boss Sumner Redstone's sex life (more pages than almost any other topic than travel) and how this author acquired the billionaire plenty of prostitutes or possibly underage sex partners on a trip to Thailand. Why is this guy bragging about all of his vile, unethical and potentially arrestable activities? He even tosses comrades like Nickelodeon leader Geraldine Laybourne into the drug-induced fire by revealing how they did illegal drugs on a company trip to Vietnam.

This guy loves to talk about going places and who he hangs out with, but there aren't a lot of great stories that come with that. Maybe the drugs impacted his memory? This should have been filled with insightful details and too often it becomes a Wikipedia version of events (and you actually will probably learn more about things on Wikipedia!). Women, in particular, get shorted.

Leading to another funny observation--he goes out of his way to praise Judy McGrath and Juli Davidson, bragging that he led MTV to hire females. He even says, "over half my senior team was female." But when they decide to hire for the beginning of MTV News, Judy McGrath (who came from a female fashion magazine!) hires Doug Herzog, Kurt Loder, David Felton, Timothy White and Charles Young. Hmmm...notice anything similar about those names? So much for female inclusion.

If you thought you were getting the inside story on one of the great leaders in TV history, you can unplug any excitement. This is not enough about MTV and too much about Timbuktu.

[Ron Spencer III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unplugged is exactly the kind of biography I enjoy, real, adventurous, and quietly inspiring.

What makes this book stand out isn’t just Freston’s role in building MTV into a global brand, but the path he took to get there. His early travels, especially through places most people would never think to go, set the tone for a life driven by curiosity, openness, and a willingness to take risks.

Reading this, you don’t just follow his journey, you start reflecting on your own. It gives you that subtle push to travel more, say yes more often, and step into experiences that might shape your perspective in ways you can’t predict.

I also appreciated that it never feels overly polished or self-congratulatory. It’s honest, grounded, and focused on the experiences and people that influenced his life along the way. That authenticity makes it much more relatable than your typical success story.

If you enjoy true stories and biographies that go beyond titles and achievements, and instead make you think about impact, adventure, and how you want to live your own life, this is a great read.

Highly recommend.

[Jonathan Karron · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a life this man has lived.

The first half of this book focuses on his younger years and his travels through Asia, Africa and Europe. He was a real adventurer and loved immersing himself in other cultures. And he wound up launching a successful business (for a while) as a result.

The second half focused on building a media empire and taking risks, getting in on the ground floor at MTVs launch and working his way up to running the entire company for a while.

I love travel, worked in media and love music and he got a front seat to so much of it. He’s a great storyteller and has many tales to tell. Wouldn’t have minded if he’d given us a bit more info on his personal life. But a small complaint after listening (I chose the audiobook) to what is a pretty remarkable life, and one he used to do good through nonprofit work later in life.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5.
Loved this book. Having worked in the music business I admired Tom from afar. But he was only the head of MTV in my brain. Boy was I wrong. The first third of the book has nothing to do with entertainment, it’s about a young man who chose exploring parts of the world few navigate.

I’ll admit, I feel a bit inadequate after reading this book. This man took chances that I can’t even comprehend. And it shaped him and helped him weather what was to come at MTV and Paramount. And beyond. So many life lessons in here.

I’d love my teenage son to read this book. But I know he won’t. So my takeaway is to implore him to travel the world, meet people of different cultures and let it mold him. Like Tom did.

[Chrissie K · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating life to read about! His early (and later) adventures traveling the world are fascinating, as well as the stories of how he came to work at and the run MTV and Viacom. What a life of experiences he has had, surrounded with fascinating people from Afghanistan to Hollywood along the way.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting guy who has led an interesting life. But he sure thinks a lot of himself, that much is clear! There was far too much about Sumner Redstone and not enough about the author's own personal life. He mentions wives when they get married and then about 5 chapters later, when they divorced. I would have liked to hear more about them than Sumner. And speaking of Sumner, Tom Freston obviously doesn't know what the Boston Brahmins are because he says Sumner was one and he most definitely was not. Plus it was the Dike Bridge that Ted Kennedy drove off, not the Dyke Bridge, FFS.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unplugged Review

Through most of this audiobook version of Unplugged I anticipated writing a really good review. Then the "third act" as the author calls it, hit. So this is a mixed review. It's Tom's true story, so it just goes to show you the vicissitudes of life and how even late in life a seemingly sane, competent, successful person can become a fully indoctrinated Woke Lunatic with an acute case of TDS to spew onto the unsuspecting listener or reader. Buyer beware. I bought both the hardcover book and the Audible version, and a comment on the narration is needed: Just as a fool hires himself as a lawyer, with rare exceptions, a fool also narrates his own book. Tom made a misstep in letting his ego dictate in that direction. His lack of public speaking ability, lack of "oral interpretive" abilities are glaring. Tom brings a hardy "New Yawk" accent to the table, along with an apparent lifetime of mispronunciations of common words and an annoying batch of regionalisms that can set one's teeth on edge while listening. Of the latter, I refer to things like pronouncing the word "wash" as "warsh" repeatedly throughout. You'd be surprised how often that word comes up in a book like this when it startles the ears of any normal speaking American. How is that a person with so much education and worldly experience can still run around saying "warsh" and mispronouncing a host of common words which I should have wrtten down to highlight for specifics, but I didn't take the time to do that. He also has a weird, laconic speech delivery that makes him sound like Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High is doing the narration. Frankly, I fault the so-called "producer" and editor of the audio book more than Tom. And that is common on Audible. Producers either are illiterate themselves, or just don't care. It's their job to direct the narration, and yet they never seem capable of correcting mispronunciations by their "talent", nor "directing" them in any way. I marvel at this incompetence, even from major publishers like Simon & Schuster. So let the audible buyer beware. You may prefer to read this one. The nasal accent and flattened vowels alone can make the listener cry for help. Now to the content. I became aware of the book in my Saint Michael's College Alumni Magazine where a feature article appeared in the most recent magazine touting Tom's illustrious MTV and Viacom careers and his new memoir. Tom attended St. Mike's in Vermont for his undergraduate education, back when it was an all male college. Funnily enough, he never mentions it was all male at the time he went. That's a pretty interesting fact he strangely leaves out. As a fellow Purple Knight, and a fellow rock 'n roller who spent decades in FM Rock Radio as a DJ both here in the US and abroad, this book detailing the launch and success of MTV and it's offshoots seemed like a must read. For the most part, the first two thirds of the book were indeed a compelling All-American story of creatives and entrepreneurs at the right time and place in history to create something brand new and amazingly fun and successful. The American Dream, by way of wanderlust with a smoke-filled hippie dream prelude in third world nirvanas as the lead-in. For before MTV, there was Tom's Hindu Kush Import Clothing Line business out of Afghanistan by way of Nepal and India. His global wanderings prompted business ideas and partnerships that were wildly successful — until President Jimmy Carter managed to crush his import buseinss in day. Before that, it was a wild ride for an ex-pat and and his pals. Armed with an MBA from NYU at this point, a graduate school enterprise that had begun as a way to avoid the Viet Nam War draft and ended in being the best thing he could have done for himself career-wise, he was prepared for a business career. He also did enlist in the National Guard for a stint. He briefly worked in mainstream NY advertising handling Charmin' Toilet Paper accounts and the like, but that was not to be his career path. He was on to wandering and creating and cooking up a life. All this is wildly interesting with a wonderful cast of characters who seem to appear and disappear and reappear throughout Tom's life. It's amazing who a person can run into in the outback of Afghanistan, or a hotel in India, or points in between. VW HIppie Vans everywhere. Once Jimmy Carter squashed his import business, then the story gets to the meat of the memoir: MTV. And Tom is in on the ground floor of the fledging music video giant. The rest is history and Tom was there and mostly at the helm every stop of the way . . . up to and including the Viacom takeover and eventually becoming CEO of Viacom. A rollicking tale all the way, filled with rock stars, smugglers, friends and fiends. He leaves out great swaths of his personal life, however, such as the two marriages he blew through and numerous girlfriends. Mostly they get brief first name mentions and his personal life is simply not included in this memoir. That's odd, to say the least. The women he does mention are those he was in business with and for whom he had mostly praise. He prides himeslf on his "diversity" in hiring at MTV and beyond. Again, I'd recommend reading rather than listening; in the book you get the photos too.

Along the way Tom assures us he is NOT a socialist, not even political. He's a captialist through and through. He'd have to be, to have the success he had. He witnessed devastating Coups in Afghansitan and other third world havens he loved. He saw first hand the devastation of Communist takeovers, Jihads, and Socialist impovershment. Never would he be part of that. Thank Goodness. But then comes the third act, as he calls it. Tom's tenure as Viacom CEO was short lived, as his mercurial boss Sumner Redstone always needed a whipping boy to blame for whatevere was bothering him on any given day. Sumner was a dude with poor character and twisted habits that made nothing he did a surprise by the end. So Tom gets fired a few months into his tenure and at age 60 is on the loose. He gets a lot of offers but is pretty picky now about what he will do in his senior years. He briefly provides consulting services to Oprah for her new OWN network launch. He consults here and there as it goes, but doesn't get snagged until his old friend Bono enters the picture and quite literally seduces him into saving the world, Bono style, with Bono's personal organizations. U2 manager Paul McGuinness asks Tom for help as these NGO's of Bono's are not well run. Tom at first offers a short term consultancy here too, and whips these offices into shape. By the time that's done, though, he's been seduced and primed and ultimately becomes sucked into Bono's vortex of do-goodery to save the world, or at least save Africa, and Tom joins the Board of a now combined "ONE" and "RED" and has sat there for some 18 years at the time of his writing. Along the way he has become wholly infected with Wokeism and inexplicable case of TDS (for a successful, lifelong Capitalist, this is bizarre). He's been rubbing shoulders with politicians now for a couple of decades, thanks to Bono's schmoozing for goernment dough. Here's the catch: these organizations were virtually wholly reliant on on now infamous USAID funding. And, well, we all know where the funding for USAID came from: you and me, the American taxpayer. And we all know now how corrupt USAID has been, worthy of the third world graft it suppported. Yet Tom, with blinders fully in place, is no longer singing "I want my MTV . . . .". Now he's shrilly screeching "I want my USAID . . . !" it's mind boggling, the cognitive descent this takes. He spends time "at this writing" lambasing President Trump and demonizes Elon Musk for exposing the corruption of USAID. He's beside himself over losing this funding. And we all saw Bono wailing before the cameras about it. Here are these uber wealthy rock stars and businessmen, backed by an actual evil billionaire who seeks to fund the undermining of American society, none other than George Soros, having the blind temerity to criticize Elon Musk for providing a public service to the Trump Admin, as promised, and setting up the DOGE Team to "follow the money.". We KNOW what was uncovered. It was a HUGE turn off to have a previously apolitical memoir of American success turn into a full-blown Woke Mind VIrus infection at the end of the book. Largely thanks to too much time partying on the Rivieria with Bono and plotting to "save Africa" on the American tax payer's dime. This is Tom's "third act" where he believes he doing meaningful work and "making a difference." Well, they certainly were making a differnce in our pocketbooks. My message to the author is this: the hubris at of the third act is off-putting. The Author takes on that typical liberal tone of assuming that everyone in the room agrees with them, in their woke rant, however irrational it is. I say, if Tom and Bono want to "save Africa" from itself and it's Karma, more power to them. Let them finance this venture ON THEIR OWN DIMES and on the dimes of WILLING DONORS who voluntarily donate to their cause. They have no right, NONE whatsoever, to hard earned American taxpayer dollars. USAID was a long running Democrat scam exposed. Frankly, their billionaire pal George Soros, could fully fund Bono's organizations himself if he wanted to. Bono himself could fund a large portion of it with his own wealth. Yet these do-gooderes want to fleece the middle class Amerian taxpayer, without consent! — for the money . NO. That scam is over. Raise the money from those who share your views and willingly give. NOT taxpayer money meant to support AMERICA and our own infrastructure and needs. We don't pay taxes to "save Africa." And the sad truth is Africa will never be saved, probably not for centuries more. And we can't fix that. This is not "making a difference" and "doing good." It's thievery and misguided do-goodery. Tom pats himself on the back quite a bit in the last couple of chapters over his work with Bono. Sorry to say, it's typical extreme Leftist misguided nincompoopery — on our dime. If he believes this is worthy work, go out and raise the money privately. With Foundations your fellow liberals can donate to, not NGOs. How ironic that "non-governmental organizations" were relying almost solely on "government money." I suggest approaching wealthy African Americans—celebreties and wealthy business people—to save their ancestral land. Irish Americans have always donated to Ireland and its causes. Let those with ties to African support their ancestral land. But you don't get my money, or the average American's taxpayer's anymore. This was, in my opinon, a shameful and disapppointing wrap to what had been a great life story. Want to make a difference? Maybe teach in an MBA program. Share your business knowledge, risks, wins and losses. Inspire. Lose the White Savior Complex. And get some treatment for that Woke Mind Virus infection. Tom, it's like you joined a cult when you hooked up with Bono. So reader beware. This is both entertaining and a cautionary tale.

[William (Bill) Fluke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tom Preston is a much better interview than he is an author. I saw him on Jimmy Fallon while promoting this book and found the topics he discussed interesting enough to have me check this book out of the library. I found “Unplugged “ highly disappointing. The first 100 pages are about his nomadic times before MTV. He spoke more of the Middle Eastern politics and geography and not that interesting. He does not write enough about his time at MTV. He barely sheds any insight into LiveAid, MTV Unplugged, and other aspects I’m familiar with from growing up with MTV. He moves on from his discussion of MTV ( quickly) and spends most of the book talking about his business life and co-workers in roles that did not spark my interest. I’m not sure how the Goodreads composite rating is so high.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing memoir by one of the co-founders of MTV, Tom Freston. The stories he talks about are amazing and he pulls back the curtain of what the early days of cable looked like. Freston went on to have a hand in not just MTV, but also Nickelodeon, VH1, Comedy Central, TV Land and so many others (and later had some oversight over Paramount Pictures). He also mentored a lot of major talent as well ranging from Bono (U2) to David Bowie and more.

What I enjoyed the most was how aspirational it was. Freston seems like a down-to-earth, fun person (and he's from a town near where I grew up) but he basically found his way into building a unique company that changed how we view music (music videos and later on, lifestyle programming). I do wish he got to have a longer run at Viacom (MTV's then owner) - he passed on MySpace which now seems like a wise move but he also talks about his role in working with Shane Smith at Vice and on other ventures as well. Highly recommend if you are in the media/television/music industry, as it's a fascinating read and so many of us grew up during MTV's heyday.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good! Inspiring, fascinating, and made me feel like the author has lived a full and fulfilling life in every way, especially in his career in advertising on Madison Ave in the 60s and 70s and then becoming one of the cofounders of MTV and in his many travels to some of the ends of the earth (Timbuktu, Burma).

I enjoyed hearing about his time in Afghanistan pre-Soviet. It’s not something widely discussed these days, so it’s rare to hear someone rave so much about a country that unfortunately seems to have changed so much, in just a few decades. The people being some of the friendliest he’s ever encountered made me so sad. I hope they can one day return to being what they were when he visited!

This was a little heavy in the second half with business speak (sorry that bores me) but I get why he added it with being the CEO of Viacom and all. 😂 it also was pretty heavy on the sex clubs and sex industry in Thailand in the chapter on his his trips there. Not really something I needed to know so much detail about but… the more you know, maybe? 👀

Gosh, this made me miss the MTV I grew up with in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now I get it: I WANT MY MTV!!

[Christy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Plot: Unplugged is a memoir chronicling the journey of Tom Freston from global nomad to the founder and CEO of MTV Networks. As a non-traditionalist and visionary, Freston takes the reader on his unconventional journey to being a media mogul, highlighting his propensity to take risks, shrink the map, and bring together talent from unlikely places.
The Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tom Freston has had quite a wild ride! As a former intern at MTV Networks during the prime Beavis & Butthead and House of Style years, I was in awe of everything that Freston accomplished at Viacom and could not resist reading his newly released autobiographical novel, Unplugged. Plus, once I heard that he narrated the audio version himself, I was hooked. Freston did not take the traditional track to his media success, in fact, he did everything he could to follow the path less traveled and his worldly experiences will leave any reader simultaneously impressed and shocked. His ability to think outside the box, gather unlikely characters, and cross challenging borders is mind-boggling. His entrepreneurial spirit and fearless drive to create based on his interests and market knowledge are truly inspiring. While reading/listening you will undoubtedly “like the guy.” My only moment of pause would be that he comes off as a bit unbelievably likable. It would be quite a feat to obtain his executive ranks within the media industry and experience the array of worldly wonders he cites and remain the boy scout presented in this book. I wonder if those who know him personally can attest to his kind and down-to-earth character. I really hope so. The world could use an example of a successful, decent guy right about now.

[Margaret Hren · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have read this year in the memrore category! Tom's knows how to tell a interesting , funny and eye opening story on how to live life and make life long friends that made him a powerhouse in entertainment - from creating and starting MTV and all the other cable channels that many of us loved and still watched, and the rise and fall of Viacom - ever business student needs to read this book . His wanderlust travels across Europe, Asia, India, North Africa and Afghanistan are so full of details I felt like I was standing right beside him. And is philanthropy to give back to those who need help is just eye opening. He ranks up there with my favorite and the godfather of travel writing Paul Theroux - I so want to be able to travel open borders again, but it's sad that myself and others will never get to see and travel off the beaten path to discover the world like Tom Freston did. Outstanding! Thank you Tom for the great journey on a tour of your travels and your business savvy. We all want our MTV!

[Timothy McClain · Rating 5 out of 5]

MTV changed the world. For those who experienced its rise and soaring influence, this book offers an incredible insider's review. I had a friend that immediately identified the initial V-Jays as iconic, and there are well received books from that lens. We remember the magic of getting cable TV and then MTV knocking off our socks. This is also a Corporate America book where MTV was a bauble to be leveraged. But the corporate masters mostly looked away because it was churning out cash and the scene onsite was wild. Tom was the one who masterfully balanced both sides and he tells stories about people you never heard of and mega stars, all who took his call and let him into their world. Unplugged gives us an insider's stroll down memory lane, as well as a look at the 60s and early 70s memory lane that lead to it.

[J Caron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unplugged is an engaging, reflective memoir that captures a rare vantage point on culture, media, and global curiosity. Tom Freston’s storytelling blends personal experience with sharp observation, offering readers an insider’s look at moments that helped shape modern entertainment while also venturing far beyond it. The narrative feels grounded, thoughtful, and refreshingly honest.

What makes Unplugged especially compelling is its sense of perspective. The transitions from building MTV to traveling through places like Timbuktu are handled with humility and curiosity rather than ego. The book reads not just as a career memoir, but as a meditation on creativity, risk, and staying connected to the world beyond titles and institutions.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This memoir by Tom Freston, the former CEO of MTV Networks and Viacom was interesting and had some fun anecdotes about the early days of MTV but dragged at points. Freston had an unusual start to a career as an executive with a sort of counterculture 1960s youth and a year spent traveling the world after a career in advertising felt boring. If I had my life to live over again, I might have taken some lessons from him. He certainly seems to have succeeded in finding interesting work that he enjoyed doing. Lots here about the early days of cable and how the media landscape changed between the 1980s and the early 2000s.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful listen! I saw this book plugged on late night and thought Freston seemed interesting enough to buy the book, then heard it was better as an audible, with Freston narrating. I loved it! This is a true adventurer who set out to explore the world, as a young man fresh out of college, with a degree in business. He headed to Afghanistan and the adventures, opportunities and stories just get better from there. Unlike some pop culture memoirs, Freston doesn't just drop names (though his life is a colorful list of who's who); he shares the ride. The development of MTV, for me, was not the most compelling of his many stories; they are all interesting and dynamic.

[John MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

The original “most interesting man in the world”, Unplugged is a supremely readable, always entertaining ride along with one of the most accomplished, fascinating personalities of the last 50 years. Not really a business memoir, (but also, not “not a business memoir”), Tom Freston makes you wish you were along for the ride, and makes you feel in many ways, you were. For anyone for whom MTV played a role in your formative years, and also anyone who is a seeker, you will definitely check out flights to the Far East on Expedia after reading.

[Michel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary memoir from a one-of-a-kind figure. Freston is humble, funny, and utterly compelling — a suit among hippies and a hippie among suits, navigating the business world on his own terms. The anecdotes are priceless (the Thailand sex club escapades with Sumner Redstone are as hilarious as they are surreal), and the book is a masterclass in how to do business differently — with charisma, humanity, and a refusal to play by the rules. A personal note: I worked at MTV after he had already left, and people still spoke about him with genuine reverence and respect. That says it all.

[Gaucho36 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This got off to a barn burner of a start and his late 60s and early 70s wanderlust was truly amazing, funny and energizing. Maybe like real people, things eventually start to slow down. His recounting of the early days of MTV was interesting and his ringside seat to the Sumner Redstone show provides ample raw material.

In the end the book became a bit draggy…and overly laden with name dropping and reflections on how great his life is. In many ways he can come off as a self proclaimed “most interesting man in the world”. On the other hand… he kind of is just that!

Worth reading

[Jeffrey Gardiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightfully Entertaining & Instructive

Not all lives need perfect planning to achieve happiness and success. With little knowledge of Tom Freston and his pivotal role in creating MTV, he vividly shares guiding life and business lessons learned from early formative days traveling the developing world to operating at the pinnacle of competitive media sharing mistakes and victories. Fascinating.

[Avy Leghziel · Rating 5 out of 5]

much more than what meets the eye

Not the classic businessman biography. Freston mixes business, adventure and history without falling in cliches. He is not the rebel, not the woke, definitely not the hippie. But he travelled the hippie places, founded MTV, Cartoon Network and other revolutionary enterprises and did pragmatic humanitarian work in Africa.
Very much recommended.

[Tina Sado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being from the “I want my MTV” generation, this was a fascinating read and I loved all the behind the scenes details on the marketing and out of the box thinking and ideas that spawned this revolution in music. Travel stories were a bit overly detailed but it added an important part to the author’s life story.

[Vicky Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating tale of one man’s rise from garment smuggler to CEO of Various media empires. Tom Freston ‘s writing style is very engaging…casual wit, intelligent insights, refreshing modesty. This is a great read for business students and adventurers alike.

[EVAN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find someone who loves you as much as Tom Freston loves himself.

“Unplugged” is entertaining to a degree, but the author doesn’t provide any depth. I don’t feel like I knew any more about him after reading than I did before.

[Katie Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

now THIS is a memoir

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent. strangely enjoyed and found the parts about afghanistan as interesting as the parts about U2!

[Ibby Dalrymple · Rating 5 out of 5]

ADORED. Implore everyone to read this. V sad it’s over