Read an excerpt from James Andrew Miller's HBO oral history book

Vulture

James Andrew Miller, who co-wrote oral history books on SNL and ESPN, will release Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers on Nov. 16. "When I set out to chronicle a book-of-record on the 49-year history of HBO, I was met with a multitude of choices to make — especially when searching for a 'spine' to hold it all together," Miller writes in introducing his two book excerpts in Vulture. "Will it be technology? HBO utilized satellite transmission before either ESPN or the Turner networks did. Perhaps the disruptive and transformational work HBO did in documentaries, or maybe movies — either producing its own spectacles or having a major impact on the financing of others. Or sports: HBO lifted boxing off the canvas and let it live once more, long after it was pronounced dead. What about the very notion of being the first successful pay television network? Or, most obvious, original series programming, which revitalized episodic shows that had been widely considered stale, even moribund. Beyond all that, is there a single image, figure or frontage that can instantly symbolize HBO to the world? Of the many contenders for top trope, one surely emerges: the fascinating, cherubic, contrarian image of James Gandolfini, dominating and irresistible star of HBO’s crown jewel, The Sopranos."