This is a book that, on the one hand, wants to be a scholarly treatise about the roll of Ed Sullivan's weekly show in the aculturation of American tastes. (Notes in every chapter! Four appendices! A bibliography!). And on the other hand, the book wants to be a friendly, folksy "behind the scenes" revelation told by Mr. Sullivan's PR man/public relations representative.

It's a little thin, in both categories. The level of scholarship is not very high; and there aren't that many revelations about the show, or Ed Sullivan himself. I did enjoy the section where the author Bernie Ilson describes a trip to the Soviet Union, during the Cold War. Apparently the Russkies tried to ply Ed Sullivan with vodka, before springing a press conference on him that was very different from what they'd promise. But Ed could hold his liquor, and he didn't embarass either himself or the U.S.A.

If you haven't read an "inside the Sullivan show" book before, this probably wouldn't be the one I'd recommend, although it's a decent enough supplement written by a man who was connected with the Sullivan organization. As the other reviewers mention, Ilson does a good job at summing up Sullivan's pre-TV years, and his personal recollections of the man are very interesting, but then the book kind of goes pear-shaped when the author starts in at length about Sullivan's popularization of high culture, and when that becomes an overarching agenda the book gets to be a bit too much. I wouldn't mind seeing a more straightforward memoir about the Sullivan years from the author, since I was sorry to see that element go once things swung around to a more general overview. ( )

A basic look at Ed Sullivan and his television show. Most of what folks today usually hear about Sullivan is connected with the appearances of Elvis and the Beatles. They are only discussed briefly here. This book does a decent job of giving the reader a broad overview of the impact the show had on popular culture. It gets a little redundant on certain subjects, and there is a strong emphasis on Sullivan's effort to bring a taste of high culture along with the jugglers, comedians and pop singers to middle America. If you're familiar with the Sullivan story, there's probably nothing new here. But if you're interested in what the show was all about, this is a good start. ( )

I'm a big Beatles fan, and their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show was a massive moment in television history. The chapter covering this in Sundays with Sullivan was the only one I thought was worth keeping. Otherwise, to be honest I was bored to tears. ( )

I grew up with The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday nights, and I loved it. I thought Ed was a little weird, but enjoyed the rest of the show so much that it didn't matter. I was thrilled to get a copy of this book to read, as I expected it to be a trip back in time with some fun memories.
Unfortunately, it was not. Bernie Ilson's was the public relations firm in charge of the show from 1963 until 1971, and one would expect him to have some fascinating stories about Ed Sullivan and the show. He chose, however, to be an apologist for Ed Sullivan (who, in my mind, didn't need an apologist until I read this book). All criticisms are passed off as jealousy, and we are reminded constantly of how we would all be a cultural wasteland if not for the "drops of culture" Ed bestowed on us every week. There were a few interesting stories about the show, but overall, it was just a poorly written book that seems to be a backlash against some imagined insult.
Frankly, this book didn't change my opinion of Ed Sullivan one way or another. It did, however, give me a very low opinion of the author. ( )