HDBRbuilder Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 HornED, As usual, you so eloquently put the reasons why I am not willing to go into sordid details of things about which I have knowledge of...in order to respect the obvious wishes of the late PWK, his family, and the current heirarchy of "his" company...especially on a public forum set-up by "his" company. So I am deign to hold my fingers(in lieu of my tongue in this instance)in order to "protect the innocent...AND the GUILTY" from being subject to my "spouting-off" of that which I know on the subject. And once again you are correct in that the FULL story of PWK, his business associates, family, etc., would likely be a best seller the likes of which we have not seen since the publishing of "Peyton Place"!! Suffice it to say that PWK was one helluva MAN, and one anybody could look up to in his ideals, but he often got much less than he deserved from those he entrusted in various aspects of his life! The book is a good read, giving a good amount of info, and some insights into how PWK saw things; but falls somewhat short of being a great biography, when considering all that a GREAT biography SHOULD encompass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 Dizrotus, The reason you didn't see anything "Klipsch" driving through Hope, AR, is because the company isn't there...LOL! The plant is located NORTH of Hope at the old "ammunition proving grounds" at a place called Oakhaven...about 7 miles north of Hope. Oakhaven is basically the surviving old Officer's Quarters of the Army Ammunition Proving Ground...with the company located just to it's east/northeast in the curve on the highway there. In order to get to the plant you have to get off I-30 at either Hope exit, and head north...if going north from the western-most exit, you will have to take a right at the Hope Airport, whereas if going north from the eastern-most exit, you will continue on direct until the highway makes a sharp curve to the left...with the plant to your right there. The only "part of Klipsch" in Hope, itself, is PWK's home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 HDBR Thanks for the directions. Sorry it took so long to read your reply. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 I have a copy of the book and read it with great interest. Over the years I've collected articles in technical publications, some from the Klipsch Papers, many patents, and magazine articles. There was new information in the book. On the other hand, it was fairly obvious that the authors were also drawing from the perviously published articles. Often they were in the form of interviews. I find no reason to gripe about such restatements. It is beneficial that much information is condensed into one readable work. I'd also heard some comments, in person at conventions and on the forum, in which people are disappointed with the biography. One is that the work was financed to Ms. Valerie as a tribute to Paul, and little more. There may be some accuracy to that. It correct to observe that Paul's previous marriage is not discussed. Perhaps that was an uncomfortable subject for Ms. Valerie. Also, all involved in the writing may have thought, correctly, that such should not be discussed in the interest of privacy. Further, who knows if any sources of information were available. As biographies of company founders go, it is better than some others. I read a company publicationn about Mr. Carrier (air conditioning). Also one about Ray Kroc (McDonald's). They do not discuss family relations, company finances, or technology at any length. Mr. Klipsch's biography has a fair amount of technical information. It does not tell you how to build a speaker. On the other hand, some of the patents mentioned are good primers and much reverse engineering is possible. I'd certainly recommend the book as one, but not the only, component of a library on his technology. It also serves to provide some insight to the spirits of the times. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 The biggest problem with this biography was likely the extreme difficulty the authors had in attempting to put it together...and this essentially boils down to YEARS and AGE. Remember, when the book was started, PWK was over 95 years old, in failing health (with attendant losses in memory thanks to strokes and such), and most, if not all, of his closest aquaintenances over the years(especially those of his pre-war years!!) had already been out-lived by him! When all the authors have to work with are personal pocket-notebook-sized journals that are in abbreviated note form (and do NOT contain alot of information other than technical information and ledger-like information), published technical papers, reviews and interviews, and a very few people who have known the person ...and even then only known him during the latter years of his life...it certainly makes the task difficult at best to write a great biography! When this is compounded by the fact that his wife came into the picture only about 30 years ago, when PWK was already in his 60's...then any stories of his younger years are basically those related to her by him...and the few surviving aquaintenances of his at that time. This leaves huge gaps of information about his personal life prior to the mid-1970's..gaps that can only be filled by those who knew him at that time...and those individuals are few and far between....if for no other reason than they departed this realm long ago! Add to this the fact that PWK never really got EXTREMELY close to many people who were NOT immediate family...generally speaking! Even photographs of PWK throughout his life had to be diffficult to come by...I, myself offered up to him a pic or two that I had taken while I worked there...and he amusingly replied "Thank you, Mr. Barr, but I have to look at this 'mug' every morning...and that is enough for me", as he grinned! So, when I remark that the book is a good book, but NOT a great biography, it is NO NEGATIVE REFLECTION upon the attempts by the authors to do the best job they could with what they had to work with! As for their efforts, they have done a REMARKABLE job...especially since the book was hastily written in order to get it published before PWK's passing! It would take MANY years to assemble up everything available pertaining to PWK's life...and even then, there would likely be HUGE gaps that can never be filled...due, as I said, to YEARS and AGE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted February 10, 2003 Author Share Posted February 10, 2003 Hey guys, just an FYI, Craig is cutting the book loose having finished it ... I think Neil is next on the list, followed by Dean and Kelly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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