In this rich, compulsively readable saga about the brave early years of television, "morning" means several things. It is the name of the first-ever morning show, pioneered by a visionary who believed television could reflect the lives of ordinary Americans; it refers to the 1950s, a time of innovation and energy in the vibrant New York City where much of the novel takes place; and finally, it suggests the dawning of a new relationship between a long-estranged father and son who must meet the new century with their fates intertwined. At the center is Alec McGowan, the creator and host of Morning, adored by women across the country for his intelligence and sex appeal, and by men for his earnest, direct way of talking. As the novel opens it is nearly fifty years since McGowan was murdered on camera by his best friend and co-host, Chet Standish. Our narrator is Alec Brown, Chet's son, a middle-aged biographer obsessed with uncovering the details of McGowan's life. Brown's research and the transcripts of his interviews with pioneers from TV's golden age capture the headlong intensity of McGowan's rise and fall, his reunion with his long-lost first love, and his struggle for fulfillment both on and off the air. As Brown's work on his book progresses, another story unfolds: the building of a tenuous relationship with his father, who has just been released from prison after serving fifty years for McGowan's murder. Their comic, heartbreaking attempts at understanding one another and the resulting changes in the life of Brown's entire family gradually illuminate the true story of Morning, in all its meanings. This unforgettable novel confirms W. D. Wetherell’s place among the most innovative and powerful novelists now working.

Morning

Literature & Fiction

Wetherell, Walter D.

United States

Pantheon

When Alec Brown, a middle-aged biographer, takes as his subject broadcasting pioneer Alec McGowan, host of television’s very first wake-up show, “Morning,” the project is marked by a sinister obsession. For intertwined with McGowan’s life and the birth of the box is Brown's own family history. His estranged father, Chet Standish, was not only McGowan's best friend and "Morning" cohost, he was also the man who shot and killed McGowan on the air. Now dying of cancer, Standish is being released from prison into his son's care. W. D. Wetherell weaves together the story of McGowan's rise to television notoriety–back when the medium, and indeed the nation, seemed ripe with promise–and Brown's tenuous steps to better understand the love triangle that drove his father to violence. Morning is at once a riveting glimpse of an era gone by, a moving portrait of a family in turmoil, and a penetrating reflection on the rise of mass media.

Morning: A Novel

Contemporary

Anchor

This lavishly photographed guide showcases one of the most beautiful regions in the country--Northern New England, an area of pristine wildernesses and extraordinary landscapes. Over 150 color photos and maps throughout.

Northern New England: Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine (The Smithsonian Guides to Natural America)

History

Americas

Random House]

Un siècle de novembre

Genre Fiction

UN SIECLE DE NOVEMBRE (LES ALLUSIFS LITTERATURE ETRANGERE)

Les allusifs

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Books by Wetherell, Walter D.