The Rise of Radio, from Marconi through the Golden Age [Paperback]

Alfred Balk (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786423684 | ISBN-13: 978-0786423682 | Publication Date: November 17, 2005

As the dominant form of electronic mass communication in the United States from the 1930s into the 1950s, radio helped to forge a modern continental nation. It fused myriad subcultures—heavily rural, ethnic, and immigrant—into a national identity, unifying the nation in the face of the Depression and war. Later, federal deregulation allowed the radio of the “Golden Age,” 1926–1952, to devolve into a chain-dominated, satellite-fed plaything of Wall Street. Today, radio has the highest profit ratio of all the media outlets—and Golden Age traditions of programming taste, diversity, balance, and localism are a legacy squandered. This anecdote-rich sweep of radio history, from its birth as Marconi’s “wireless telegraph” through its current status under deregulation, analyzes the changing medium’s social, political, and cultural impact. It casts new light on many topics, including the roles of women and African Americans, programming sources outside the Hollywood-Broadway nexus, and arguments about Amos ’n’ Andy—once the hit that jump-started radio’s young networks, now a controversial remnant of a bygone era. The book is augmented with more than sixty photos, extensive source notes, and a bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A fabulous book...the research that went into it is stunning!” --Mike Wallace, 60 Minutes

“One of the first truly scholarly histories of radio...excellent job” --The Illustrated Press

“a masterful work and a pleasure to read...ought to be the lasting work on the subject” --Everette E. Dennis, Fordham University

About the Author

Alfred Balk is a writer, consultant and vintage radio collector. Formerly a magazine editor, he has taught at Columbia and Syracuse Universities and written more than one hundred articles for national magazines, including Harper’s, Reader’s Digest, Saturday Evening Post, Columbia Journalism Review and Saturday Review.

Product Details

• Paperback: 358 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (November 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786423684
• ISBN-13: 978-0786423682
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,484,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Insightful: A Gem, September 22, 2006

By 

RL Finley (East Coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rise of Radio, from Marconi through the Golden Age (Paperback)

This book is thoroughly researched and footnoted, with an extensive bibliography and scholarly content, yet is interesting and accessible to the lay person. Fascinating trivia is included; photos are unusual and interesting too - for example, a b/w close-up of Ronald Reagan at his first job, a radio announcer in Davenport, Iowa.

Detailed but concise and extremely well-written, the author covers the background of radio and lessons learned (or lessons we COULD learn) as they apply to today's media conglomerates and Federal regulators in the chapter "A Legacy Lost."

Outstanding nonfiction reading and well worth the price.