Reviews
An intriguing blend of music and ad history, American Babel uses archives and source materials to examine stations, radio personalities, and their social influence., "This book is the secret history of everything I've always wanted to know about my own medium. I read this book hungrily, turning the pages fast."-Ira Glass, host of Public Radio International's This American Life, A freshly written, accessible, and engaging tour across the dial of early American radio. Doerksen successfully combines archival material and various obscure sources to reconstruct the programming of these long-forgotten stations., "A vivid and exciting detective tale. . . . An important intervention into the scholarly debate about the origins of the American system of broadcasting."--American Historical Review, "A vigorous and well-documented revisionist argument . . . subtly hilarious . . . elegantly researched and written."- Journal of American History, A lively, well-written, deeply researched book that will significantly further our understanding of both radio history and American cultural history. Doerksen lays out precisely how stations and entrepreneurs previously dismissed as marginal to the emerging corporate consolidation actually helped shape American broadcasting with their innovations., "A lively, well-written, deeply researched book that will significantly further our understanding of both radio history and American cultural history. Doerksen lays out precisely how stations and entrepreneurs previously dismissed as marginal to the emerging corporate consolidation actually helped shape American broadcasting with their innovations."--Daniel Czitrom, author of Media and the American Mind: From Morse to McLuhan, Well-written. . . . Provides a wealth of information regarding the social context of early radio. . . .The concluding chapter reveals Doerksen's brillance in summarizing the major issues that faced audiences during the 1930s., "A vivid and exciting detective tale. . . . An important intervention into the scholarly debate about the origins of the American system of broadcasting."- American Historical Review, "A freshly written, accessible, and engaging tour across the dial of early American radio. Doerksen successfully combines archival material and various obscure sources to reconstruct the programming of these long-forgotten stations."--Technology and Culture, "An intriguing blend of music and ad history, American Babel uses archives and source materials to examine stations, radio personalities, and their social influence."-- Midwest Book Review, "An intriguing blend of music and ad history,American Babeluses archives and source materials to examine stations, radio personalities, and their social influence."--Midwest Book Review, "Well-written. . . . Provides a wealth of information regarding the social context of early radio. . . .The concluding chapter reveals Doerksen's brillance in summarizing the major issues that faced audiences during the 1930s."-- Journal of Radio Studies, "A vigorous and well-documented revisionist argument . . . subtly hilarious . . . elegantly researched and written."-- Journal of American History, "A significant step forward in revising our understanding of radio's initial decades. . . .Doerksen should be commended for his thematic emphases, his thorough archival research, and his wide-ranging review of 1920s radio publications. Together they provide a vivid portrait of these stations, their audiences, and the reactions of mainstream corporate broadcasters."- Enterprise and Society, "Well-written. . . . Provides a wealth of information regarding the social context of early radio. . . .The concluding chapter reveals Doerksen's brillance in summarizing the major issues that faced audiences during the 1930s."--Journal of Radio Studies, "A freshly written, accessible, and engaging tour across the dial of early American radio. Doerksen successfully combines archival material and various obscure sources to reconstruct the programming of these long-forgotten stations."- Technology and Culture, "A significant step forward in revising our understanding of radio's initial decades. . . .Doerksen should be commended for his thematic emphases, his thorough archival research, and his wide-ranging review of 1920s radio publications. Together they provide a vivid portrait of these stations, their audiences, and the reactions of mainstream corporate broadcasters."--Enterprise and Society, A vivid and exciting detective tale. . . . An important intervention into the scholarly debate about the origins of the American system of broadcasting., "A vivid and exciting detective tale. . . . An important intervention into the scholarly debate about the origins of the American system of broadcasting."-- American Historical Review, "Well-written. . . . Provides a wealth of information regarding the social context of early radio. . . .The concluding chapter reveals Doerksen's brillance in summarizing the major issues that faced audiences during the 1930s."- Journal of Radio Studies, "A lively, well-written, deeply researched book that will significantly further our understanding of both radio history and American cultural history. Doerksen lays out precisely how stations and entrepreneurs previously dismissed as marginal to the emerging corporate consolidation actually helped shape American broadcasting with their innovations."--Daniel Czitrom, author ofMedia and the American Mind: From Morse to McLuhan, "A freshly written, accessible, and engaging tour across the dial of early American radio. Doerksen successfully combines archival material and various obscure sources to reconstruct the programming of these long-forgotten stations."-- Technology and Culture, "A vigorous and well-documented revisionist argument . . . subtly hilarious . . . elegantly researched and written."--Journal of American History, "A significant step forward in revising our understanding of radio's initial decades. . . .Doerksen should be commended for his thematic emphases, his thorough archival research, and his wide-ranging review of 1920s radio publications. Together they provide a vivid portrait of these stations, their audiences, and the reactions of mainstream corporate broadcasters."-- Enterprise and Society, "An intriguing blend of music and ad history, American Babel uses archives and source materials to examine stations, radio personalities, and their social influence."- Midwest Book Review, A significant step forward in revising our understanding of radio's initial decades. . . .Doerksen should be commended for his thematic emphases, his thorough archival research, and his wide-ranging review of 1920s radio publications. Together they provide a vivid portrait of these stations, their audiences, and the reactions of mainstream corporate broadcasters., This book is the secret history of everything I've always wanted to know about my own medium. I read this book hungrily, turning the pages fast., "A lively, well-written, deeply researched book that will significantly further our understanding of both radio history and American cultural history. Doerksen lays out precisely how stations and entrepreneurs previously dismissed as marginal to the emerging corporate consolidation actually helped shape American broadcasting with their innovations."-Daniel Czitrom, author of Media and the American Mind: From Morse to McLuhan, "This book is the secret history of everything I've always wanted to know about my own medium. I read this book hungrily, turning the pages fast."--Ira Glass, host of Public Radio International's This American Life, "This book is the secret history of everything I've always wanted to know about my own medium. I read this book hungrily, turning the pages fast."--Ira Glass, host of Public Radio International'sThis American Life
