My Wars; Surviving WWII & the FCC

Arlington, Virginia: Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, 2001. Presumed First Trade Paperback Edition and presumed first printing. Trade paperback. Very good. xxi, [1], 146 pages. The memoirs of Former FCC Chairman/Commissioner James H. Quello is the extraordinarily human story of a soldier, a broadcaster, and a public servant who became a legend on his own time--and on his own terms. Inscribed by the author on the title page. Inscription reads, To Brendt, A distinguished communication lawyer and valued friendship. Best, Jim. Includes Forewords by Congressman John Dingell and others. Also includes chapters on Hectic Early Years; General Patton and the African Campaign; Campaign in Sicily and Italy; France, Germany and Dachau; Historic Assault on SS College; Post-War Relaxation?; Home at Last; WJR and the G.A. Richards Era; An FCC Commission At Last; The Revolutionary Communications Years; The FCC--From Crisis to Crisis; Howard Stern; Demagoguery in the Children's Television Act; Purely Anecdotal; and Finale: All's Well that Ends Well. James Henry Quello (April 21, 1914 - January 24, 2010) was a broadcaster and later government official who oversaw the communications industry. Quello was born in Laurium, Michigan. He was a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and, in 1993, from February 5 to November 28, served as the acting chairman of the commission. His term as acting chairman ended when Reed Hundt was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He stepped down as an FCC commissioner in 1998. Quello was a Democrat who was appointed to the FCC by a Republican president, Richard Nixon. He was a World War II veteran during the European conflict in 1941-1945 and friend of American president Gerald Ford. Despite his brief tenure as FCC chairman, The New York Times described his term with the headline "Temporary Chief Proves More Than a Fill-In". He also was once characterized as "Trumanesque" for his forthright and down-to-earth, approach to government deliberations. As FCC commissioner and chairman, Quello became known for his independent thinking. He has been a champion of preserving free universal television. His decisions contributed to the transition of the FCC and the American broadcasting market into the Information Age during a period of revolutionary technological and economic change. He argued for deregulation (he took a position against financial-interest and syndication rules) but was supportive for regulation as well. "I do deregulation, I don't do anarchy", The New York Times quoted Quello as saying. In the early 1980s, he opposed the FCC's move to let owners of TV stations sell their licenses after owning them a year. He called for legislation that would allow the commission to keep closer watch on the level of violence on TV.