Talk:Time Life/Archives/2013

Balance of Article

I think the final paragraph of this article should just be a link to "Continuity Programs", since BMG and Columbia have done the same thing for years. It also seems hard for me to beleive that so much of this article is dedicated to a lament for consumers who don't understand the fine print of this world. I think these Time Life series books, were in large, were an excellent medium for middle class families to bring high quality books into their homes on affordable installment plans. Time-Life used their skills to create splendid volumes, just the right mix of text and graphics, including lovely color photos and detailed diagrams to explain their topics. They also recruited subject matter experts to act as writers and editors: Arthur C. Clarke wrote the MAN IN SPACE volume of the Science Library. Many of these books can still be found at public libraries, woven into the stacks by their subject matter. I think these books represent a zenith in American interest in learning and education. Now instead of reading books about the Great Ages of Man or the Civil War, we fret over paying too much for the complete works of John Denver or The Carpenters. This is a sign of the times. — Preceding unsigned comment added by PeterHoy4 (talk • contribs) June 2006

On the other hand, these book series' have a pretty bad image these days - pseudo-intellectual middle classes who only bought the collections to fill shelf space etc. Can't find any really reliable links (how do you qualify an "image" like this?), but see for example this Onion article - [1]. Many a true word is spoken in jest! 109.6.227.69 (talk) 13:09, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

Ownership and name

Time-Life is no longer owned by Readers Digest/RDA. Allen Shapiro and Mosaic Media Investment Partners bought them in July 2012. http://www.redorbit.com/news/entertainment/1112649543/the_readers_digest_association_inc_announces_sale_of_its_lifestyle/

They are in the process of transitioning their company name from Time-Life to StarVista Entertainment, as evidenced by the fact that their China Beach DVD releases bear both names on the packaging. In the last of the press releases for that Complete Series DVD set, they are credited in the body of the text (beginning of the 4th paragraph, then again later on) as "StarVista Entertainment/Time Life":

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/China-Beach-Complete-Collection/18122 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.66.8.148 (talk) 11:18, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Negativists

Fie on the anonymous airheads above. This article explains and gives excellent background of the Time-Life Company. It's only shortcoming I see is that the lists are incomplete. For instance, T-L produced many reprints of articles originally appearing in LIFE e.g. Life Before Birth, LIFE Educational Reprint 27. Dangnad (talk) 06:03, 7 November 2013 (UTC)