verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . october 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message direct holdings global llc type private founded 1961 headquarters fairfax virginia and new york city owner time inc. 1961 1990 time warner 1990 2003 ripplewood holdings l.l.c. 2003 2007 zelnickmedia corporation 2003 2007 reader s digest association 2007 2013 mosaic media investment partners 2013 present number of employees 60 as of 2015 website timelife.com time life building in rockefeller center in new york city time life statue in new york city in front of the time life building direct holdings global llc doing business as starvista entertainment and time life is a creator and direct marketer that is known for selling books music video dvd and multimedia products . the current focus of the company is music video and entertainment experiences such as cruises as the book division closed in 2003 . its products have been sold throughout north america europe australia and asia through television print retail the internet telemarketing and direct sales . current operations are focused in the us and canada with limited retail distribution overseas . time life was founded in 1961 as the book division of time inc. . it took its name from time inc. s cornerstone magazines time and life but remained independent of both . during 1966 time life combined its book offerings with music collections two to five records and packaged them as a sturdy box set . throughout the 1970s and 1980s the selection of books music and videos grew and was diversified into more genres . when record labels stopped producing vinyl albums in 1990 time life switched to cd only . in the mid 1990s time life acquired heartland music with the heartland music label now appearing as a brand . this company was subsequently sold off and is no longer attached to time life . at the end of 2003 time life was acquired by ripplewood holdings l.l.c. and zelnickmedia corporation to become part of direct holdings worldwide l.l.c. direct holdings americas inc. operates as a leader in the sale of music and video products under the time life brand . since 2003 direct holdings us corp is the legal name of time life and is no longer owned by its former parent time warner later time inc. in june 9 2014 . in march 2007 ripplewood led a group that took the reader s digest association private and treated time life as a division of rda . by 2003 onward a disclaimer on the copyright stated that it is not affiliated with time warner inc. or time inc. who owns the time and life magazines which this company name came from . in 2013 reader s digest association sold time life to mosaic media investment partners . 1 contents 1 book series 2 music 2.1 pop music enters the picture 2.2 saguaro road records 2.3 list of series 3 video 4 entertainment 5 see also 6 references 7 external links book series edit the time life company was founded by jean incorporated in 1961 as a book marketing division . its name is derived from time and life magazines two of the most popular magazines of the era . it was based in the time life building in rockefeller center . time life gained fame as a seller of book series that would be mailed to households in monthly installments operating as book sales clubs . several of these book series garnered substantial critical acclaim unusual for a mass market mail order house . citation needed for example the series library of photography of the early 1970s featured very high quality duotone printing for its black and white reproductions in its original edition and was of course able to draw on life magazine s vast archive of journalistic and art photographs from virtually every major photographer ; foods of the world featured contributions by m.f.k. fisher james beard julia child craig claiborne and many others ; and the good cook series edited by richard olney featured contributions from jeremiah tower jane grigson michel lemonnier and many others . other series of high regard covered nature and the sciences as well as the history of world civilizations . the science books are interesting as ephemera of their time . the content of these series was more or less encyclopedic providing the basics of the subjects in the way it might be done in a lecture aimed at the general public . there was also a series on contemporary life in various countries of the world . some other series are much less highly regarded especially the later output as the publisher moved away from soberly presented science and history towards sensationalism pop history and diy themed books . the books whatever their quality are easy to find at low prices on the used book market due to their being published in the millions of copies . some of the items in this list may also be single books not in a series but followed the same types of themes as the book series . american country the american indians 1992 1996 23 volumes the american wilderness 2 ancient civilizations historic archeological discoveries the art of sewing 2 a child s first library of learning series of educational books by time life canada by brian moore and the editors of life 1963 the civil war series 1983 1987 28 volumes not the same as the civil war a narrative by shelby foote classics of the old west 2 not the same as the old west collector s library of the civil war 1981 1985 28 volumes 2 reproductions of participants memoirs collector s library of the unknown 24 volumes curious and unusual facts the emergence of man 2 enchanted world 21 volumes best selling time life series echoes of glory 1991 3 volumes set dealing with the arms and equipment of the civil war armies complemented with a civil war atlas the encyclopedia of collectibles 2 the epic of flight 2 eyewitness children s series on nature science and civilization family library how things work in your home the time life book of the family car the time life family legal guide and the time life book of family finance 2 fitness health and nutrition fix it yourself foods of the world 2 fresh ways cookbook series the good cook 2 great ages of man history of each of the major civilizations of human history 2 the great cities 2 history of the world 1991 24 volumes home repair and improvement 2 with commercials starring bob vila from 1984 to 1992 how things work human behavior 2 the kodak library of creative photography library of health 2 library of nations the life history of the united states 2 life library of photography 2 life nature library 25 volumes 2 life science library 26 volumes 2 life world library 2 lost civilizations mysteries of the unknown 33 volumes best selling time life series the new face of war 9 volumes survey of the major fields of modern warfare the old west 2 planet earth series 2 the seafarers 1978 1981 22 volumes 2 the third reich series 21 volumes this fabulous century 2 time frame a survey of history by time periods instead of by civilization time life library of america 2 time life library of art 2 the time life library of boating 2 the time life library of gardening 2 time life library of curious and unusual facts time reading program 2 three hundred years of american painting understanding computers voices of the civil war 1996 1998 18 volumes reproducing letters from participants voices of triumph 3 volumes african american history voyage through the universe series on astronomy wild wild world of animals based on the tv series what life was like the world s wild places 2 wings of war 26 volumes reproductions of wartime aviator s memoirs world war ii series 39 volumes 3 100 years of hollywood time life no longer publishes books as its book division was closed in 2003 . time inc. time warner however continues to publish similar material through time home entertainment inc. music edit time life added music in 1962 selling box sets and collections through time life records . during the 1960s and 1970s the collections released by time life records catered to a conservative adult audience with genres including classical jazz swing and orchestral music ; and the music of operas and broadway theatre . on occasion time life offered popular music generally pre 1955 music as opposed to pop and rock music airing on contemporary hit radio stations in the united states at the time in box sets . although there were television advertisements time life advertised most of these sets in magazines specialty catalogs and direct mail . in the early 1980s time life began branching out offering a series of albums focusing on country music . the first series was 1981 s country music with volumes focusing on a particular artist and featuring eight or nine tracks per album . twenty volumes were issued with many of country s greatest artists of the time charley pride was the first artist featured getting their own album . but until the mid 1980s time life did not feature a rock music intensive series for customers preferring to cater to older adults with conservative music tastes . pop music enters the picture edit time life s first successful foray into rock music came in 1986 with a series called the rock n roll era . each volume in that series like similar series that followed focused on a particular year in this case 1955 through 1964 the early pre beatles years of rock music a stylistic trend or particular artist influential in rock music . each volume had 22 tracks and was said to contain the original hit recording by the original artist although this wasn t always true on early pressings of the early albums in the series . the songs themselves represented the most important and popular songs from the period or subject featured . an essay published by both sides now publications noted that time life s move into rock music came at a time when much of the adult audience time life catered to grew up during the rock and roll era and as such the new series was consistent with its goal of catering to an adult audience . 4 the rock n roll era series was a big success and by the time the final volume was issued in the early 1990s more than 50 different volumes including two christmas albums had been released . this paved the way for more country and pop music intensive series including country usa classic rock sounds of the seventies sounds of the eighties your hit parade a series featuring popular music of the 1940s through early 1960s and super hits . like the earlier series each volume issued had its own paperback booklet containing liner notes and information about the songs with the addition of placement on various billboard magazine charts . like the earlier box sets featuring other musical styles and genres the country and pop music series were advertised in magazines catalogs and direct mail . by this time some of these collections were advertised on television either commercials or 30 minute infomercials . the television advertisements used slogans e.g. relive your high school days ... clips of songs included in each volume along with a scrolling list of other titles a commercial spokesman usually a performer or legendary disc jockey relevant to a given series such as rick dees for a 1970s intensive collection and ralph emery for a country music series and testimonials from customers attesting to the quality and value of the albums to pitch a