Media and the American Mind: From Morse to McLuhan [Paperback]

Daniel J. Czitrom (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807841072 | ISBN-13: 978-0807841075 | Publication Date: January 24, 1983 | Edition: 2nd Prn Jan 1983

In a fascinating and comprehensive intellectual history of modern communication in America, Daniel Czitrom examines the continuing contradictions between the progressive possibilities that new communications technologies offer and their use as instruments of domination and exploitation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Czitrom has produced a significant work that should be read by all scholars interested in the historical forces that have shaped modern American society. American Historical Review

Among students of media, Czitrom has a refreshing lucidity. Voice Literary Supplement

A compact, lucid guide to thinking about the media. . . . A trove of research findings and a fund of ideas. Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press; 2nd Prn Jan 1983 edition (January 24, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807841072
• ISBN-13: 978-0807841075
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just another history book..., June 10, 2000

By 

Alfred G. Mueller II (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Media and the American Mind: From Morse to McLuhan (Paperback)

Although Czitron tackles an ambitious subject, mapping the history of the media, he succeeds where so many others have failed.

Czitron traces the media not as separate and discrete events, but as arenas wherein we as a society have sought to confront some of the more fundamental issues of our time. To me, the value of the book lies precisely in this uncovering of social themes. Unlike other media history books, which show how one medium influenced another's development (e.g., the telegraph sparked the radio) and then move on, Czitron shows us that most of the issues that arose early on are still very much with us (e.g., social regulation).

As a college professor, I frequently refer back to Czitron whenever I bring media discussions into my classes. My copy is dog-earred from several reads. And each time I read it, I capture some new nuance that I overlooked before. But, even though I say I am a professor, I can honestly admit that the book is easily accessible to students of mass communication at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

For those outside academia, this may or may not be the book for you, depending largely on your interest in issues of power and/or social thought. If, for example, you have read any of the Chicago School theorists like John Dewey or Walter Lippmann or are into any of the contemporary cultural theorists, you will like this book. If you are looking, on the other hand, for quick and dirty armchair reading, try something else. Also, if you are looking for someone who provides "THE one-and-only history of the mass media," this book is not for you.

In sum, Czitrom manages to provide several new vistas into contemporary media, challenging some conventions and engaging actively all who are willing to engage him. This isn't to say that you will always agree with him. But he makes his case and yet manages to leave room for ongoing discussion...just what any good author is supposed to do.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Workmanlike!, March 10, 2011

By 

S. Pactor "reader" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Media and the American Mind: From Morse to McLuhan (Paperback)

This is a book I've had lying around for half a year- I know that because when I went to look it up on Amazon, Amazon kindly informed me that I ordered it in July, 2010. One of the problems with reading books as supposed to listening to music or collecting stamps is that reading books takes time and mental energy- they really can stack up if you aren't careful.

Media an the American Mind is an interesting attempt at explaining the way new media were received by the public and by intellectuals- the first part discusses the reception of the telegraph, motion picture s and radio. The second part talks about the ways intellectuals interpreted these advances in communications technology. In the second part, Czitrom discusses the theories of Charles Horton Coole, Joohn Dewey, Robert E. Park, Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan. Of those thinkers, I was only familiar with Dewey and McLuhan, so it was interesting to read about the lesser known communications theories of Cooley, Park & Innis. Innis in particular comes off as the real inspiration for McLuhan's vogue theories of the 1960s.

What comes across clearly in Media & The American Mind is the paralyzing fear that most intellectuals felt about the prospect of mass media. Perhaps a more interesting book would have been on the methods by which businesses convinced the public that Mass Culture was something to be valued. Oh wait- that book was written, and it's called Land of Desire by William Leach.

Ultimately, Media and the American Mind felt dated- very "Media Studies" very 80s- I'd much rather talk about audiences than media. McLuhan: I just want to punch him the face, what a doof.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars THis is more a long journal article than a book, April 20, 2011

By 

Zeldabrain (California, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Media and the American Mind: From Morse to McLuhan (Paperback)

I found the book to be long, drawn out, and lacking in substance.
Technological determinism is the point. It could have been made in
10 pages.