So, your first question is: Why isn’t this listed as a “Bonus Book Review”? Obviously, it has nothing to do with the Beatles! True, but TEDTalks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking
A couple months ago, I noticed that there will be a TEDx event in Delaware. TEDx events (with the x at the end), are off-shoots of the original TEDTalks. I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring and try for a spot to speak at this event in November. I submitted my speech proposal and 1 minute video…and got the rejection email like thousands of others. But one of the things they suggested, should we wish to try again, was to read their book on how to give an official 15-18 minute TED talk.
TED was founded in 1984 by Harry Marks and Richard Sullivan and is an annual conference that is held as a way to spread ideas about Technology, Entertainment and Design. The founders believed that these three fields are actually all intertwined and they wanted a new way for people to help spread the innovative and ground breaking work they were doing. It costs $10,000 a ticket to attend a conference, but you will get to see notable speakers like Bono, Bill Clinton, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, etc. (It was never my intention to speak at the main conference, but a satellite TEDx would be cool.) There is so much to these events that it would take up too much room here, so if you want to know more about TED, click here.
TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking was published in 2016 by Chris Anderson, the new owner of TED. The book is only about 252 pages and a quick read. But it’s filled with a lot of powerful information for anyone that needs or wants to speak in public. It covers just about any topic you can think of, right down to what to wear. Should you stand or sit? Should you use a slide presentation, props or just speak? Rehearse the speech ahead of time or read from a script? Podium or walk the stage? How to fend off stage fright?
Even though I’ve given speeches and lectures before (nothing major or mind-blowing), there was still a lot for me to learn from this book. It really is a must read for anyone who needs to get up in front of a crowd and talk, whether solo or on a panel. Anyone…no matter how confident you are, could learn something new. In fact, I would say that anyone speaking at a Beatles festival, conference or symposium, could enhance their stage presence really quickly. Which brings me to the next reason I read this book…
On Sunday, November 11th, I will be speaking at The Beatles’ White Album Symposium at Monmouth University in Long Branch, NJ. It’s a three day event (four days if you could the concert the night before) and some of the great keynote speakers include: Mark Lewisohn, Ken Mansfield, Mark Lapidos, Scott Frieman, Robert Rodriguez and Bruce Spizer. There are really too many to list, so just go to the website to check it out! It’s hosted by Kenneth Womack, author of the two book series on George Martin. Tickets for the general public cost $75 for each day and includes keynotes, films and meals.
And for that reason…
I rate this book, 4 out of 4 Beetles!
Published in 2013, 
comes in at a whooping 932 pages (803 without the bibliography and index). One would think that’s a lot of pages for the first of three books that author Mark Lewisohn has planned for this series, until you realize that 
Beatles-Freak's Reviews 