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&#x2019;s The Twentieth Century and Carl Sagan&#x2019;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&#x2019;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&#x2019; 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&#x2019;s Made, and Planet Earth. --David Siegfried