Radio Books

My daughter saw this book when visiting me. We are both nostalgia buffs. I sent her a copy of her own, and she was very pleased. Unfortunately the book seems out of print and is only available used.

Lately, there have been a rash of good books on the subject of Old Time Radio (THE GREAT AMERICAN BROADCAST by Leonard Maltin, for example) but nothing beats this exhaustive guide to the classic (and not-so-classic) radio shows of yesteryear. With each title arranged in alphabetical order, the novice can quickly turn to, say, FIBBER MCGREE AND MOLLY, and read an informative overview of the show's history and appeal. The readabilty and breath of knowledge of this volume is fantastic. While out of print (my copy has been by my side since '77), if you're a fan of a time when radio was truely the "theatre of the mind," this book is well worth searching out.

Since Mr. Harwell was/is "tuned to baseball," I was tuned into listening to Mr. Harwell broadcsting the Tigers and sharing these wonderful stories! When I was a child and now as a man, Ernie Harwell is my hero! I am so fortunate to have an autographed copy of this great book by the great announcer/great person!

Ernie Harwell is not only one of baseball's great announcers, but also one of its great men. This memoir chronicles his beginnings as an announcer back in the 30s all the way to the contemporary Detroit Tiger teams he now covers. Tiger fans wil get the most out of it, but the book is filled with "stuff you didn't know" about the great NY and Brooklyn teams in the 50s, as well as stories about many of baseball's notable figures over the last half-century. Written in a warm, home-spun style, this is one volume "purist" baseball fans will want to go out and get.

It must be the lurker in me... I've always been fascinated with listening to unusual broadcasts like shortwave radio and emergency frequencies. Therefore, I was happy to have the opportunity to review the book Two-Way Radios & Scanners For Dummies by H. Ward Silver. It's an excellent way to get started in this hobby (or obsession)...

Contents:
Part 1 - Making Radio a Habit, a Hobby, or a Helper: Introducing Radios and the Wireless Word; Discovering the Art and Science of Radio; Making Radio Fit Your Life
Part 2 - Two-Way Radios at Home, Work, and Play: A Radio in Your Pocket - FRS/GMRS Radios; Breaker, Breaker - Using Citizens Band; Communicating in Emergencies; Workaday Wireless - Business Radio Services; Ladies and Gentlemen, Ships at Sea - Marine Radio; Citizen Wireless - Amateur Radio
Part 3 - Listening In - Scanning and Shortwave Listening: One Adam 12 - Scanner Basics; Scanning Public Service and Safety Radio Transmissions; Radio Aloft - Aviation Radio Transmissions; Radios in Uniform: Government Radio Transmissions; Radio in Action - Recreational Radio Transmissions; Surfing the Air World - Shortwave Listening
Part 4 - Getting Technical with Your Radio: Building Your Radio Toolbox; A Spark of Electronic Know-How; Installing Radios Right; Getting a Charge Out of Batteries; Putting Your Computer to Work; Troubleshooting Your Radio
Part 5 - The Part of Tens: Ten Radio Secrets; Ten Emergency Tips; Ten Radio First-Aid Techniques; Ten New Ways to Have Fun with Your Radio; Glossary; Index

There's not much that Silver doesn't cover in this book. He works both sides of the radio spectrum, from just listening to actually participating. If the usage of the airwaves in a particular category require having a license, he covers the requirements in order to make sure you stay legal. The basics of the hardware for each type of activity is illustrated in a very easy-to-understand fashion without getting overly technical. Same with subjects like antennas. There are some really heavy-duty scientific principles behind how antennas work and how different frequency ranges really require different antenna types. Silver is able to get you through this without the eyes glazing over... My personal favorite part of the book was on the shortwave listening. I remember listening to shortwave broadcasts from Radio Nederlands when I was young, amazed that I could be hearing stuff from the other side of the earth. This book brought back some of those same feelings.

This book is a very good way to get yourself started in the business of voice communications over the airwaves. Regardless of your leanings as a lurker or participant, you'll find what you need here to make that first contact.

Though I have'nt finished it yet,this book joins Ward's other
books,in being easy to read and understand.
David N5SJS

I found this book and the accompanying CD extremely helpful in timing, do's and dont's and how to slow down or speed up to fit in a spot. The accompanying jingles and examples are fantastic!

This book makes it clear that having a 'nice voice' is as much a guarantee of geting voice-over work as 'having two hands' is a guarantee of being a famous concert pianist.

The book is very detailed and thorough with many examples of scripts for the reader to try out. There is also a free CD with the book which has examples of good and bad voice-overs together with many backing tracks and jingles to accompany the scripts in the book.

An excellent book which is rapidly becoming the definitive text on this exciting career.

Having grown up on "underground" FM radio during the 60's and 70's, this book was extremely enjoyable. More than just a book about a bunch of hippies running radio stations the right way (ie, playing good music as opposed to corporate-pushed excrement), "Voices in the Purple Haze" also delves into the history of rock and roll radio, from AM right up until the first FM stations started taking a chance with the new musical genre.

Keith shows the cultural and financial reasons for the growth of the underground format as well as its mutation into what eventually became AOR (Album Oriented Rock). He does this with pages and pages of interviews with the actual DJ's and executives who invented, drove and changed the underground radio scene. A case for and against the idea and ideals of the freeform format eventually appear, with both cases getting equal time right up until the end of the book. The final product is a fairly well-balanced document that gives the reader enough data to understand the history and genesis of FM radio and form their own opinions.

All in all a great book about a very important and fun period in the history of radio. By the end of the book, you'll understand why modern radio [is] so bad.

One of many things the 1960s brought us was the advent of "free-form" or "underground FM radio." As a young teenager growing up in this era in Los Angeles, I had the chance to listen to KPPC-FM and later KLOS, KMET, and KWST-FM. I even had a chance a few times to listen to KSAN in San Francisco in the early to mid 1970s. In some ways I look back and think those stations were likely the best I ever heard.

This book chronicles that era and describes the conditions that brought it about: social unrest and tumultous times, along with extremely restrictive radio programming. In interviews with numerous former "underground DJ's," they talk about what it was like to be a part of them. The book also goes on to describe the evolution of, and ultimately what "killed" them. It was again the same culture that spawned them in the first place, the "children of the 60s" who later became the "working class heroes and yuppies of the 70s and 80s." Reading this book brought back memories of an era that most likely will never exist again.

As a former college and briefly "pro" disk jockey who still is intrigued by the wild and wooly side of radio, this book was a nostalgic trip back in time.

The fifth book in the series finds Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace joining Prince caspian on a ship called The Dawn Treader, which is setting sail to little known Narnian territories where Caspians uncles have been exiled. Each island explores a different sin by which an uncle fell, and a different magical encounter for the voyagers to face and resolve.
The developement of the mighty mouse Reepicheep is an especially welcome treat for children, and the scene in which Eustace becomes a dragon and embodies his own foul heart, so gaining a sort of enlightenment and a definite change of character, is a particularly skillful use of symbolism.
The reaching of Aslan's kingdom is also a symbol of enlightenment, with the Kingdom of Aslan invoking the Kingdom of Heaven in the reader's mind. The islands can be seen as steps in the path to heaven, and the character developement along the way can be seen as an outline to the steps towards righteousness and spirituality. As a fantasy or as a religious writing, this is a hugely important book!

J. Lyon Layden
The Other Side of Yore

A full cast of voices from many popular british actors, notably Paul Scofield as the narrator, this is a must own for any Chronicles of Narnia fan.

This a adaption of THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER is particularly one of the best of the Radio Theatre series first of all because I like the story, and secondly because the voice of Reepicheep is really well acted. The sound effects are first rate, and the closeness to the book is astounding.

As an adult, I was fascinated by this book. I enjoyed the photos and the biography. I think this is a book for adults and children to read together and to use as a springboard for dialogue about life's challenges and how to deal with them, as well as the discrimination faced by a minority. It is all about the incredibly difficult challenges that one man has gone through (discrimination, parental loss as a child, polio, etc.), and is inspiring in how he reinvented himself over the years and managed to find success.

I found this book very inspirational, as it tells the life and struggles of an artist and Hollywood special effects master. The language sparked my interest and made me want to read more. I especially enjoyed the details about Chang's work with Walt Disney Studios and the Star Trek TV show. The book made me feel that I personally knew someone famous. This is an interesting story of a man who accomplished so much. As an educator, I would recommend the book to students and to adults. It will help others realize that we CAN get past difficult times and that we can nurture our own creativity in order to see our own dreams come true.

I thought this book would be okay but it turns out this book is the best book i EVER read- and i read A TON!SERIOUSLY, read this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's about sabrina casting a spell that make every1 she talks 2 sleep- exept her and SAlem. and she can't go 2 her aunts 4 advice cuz they're sleeping- and won't wake up! and then she has to go 2 a scavenger hunt around the globe- WITH LIMITED MAGIC! she has 2 break the rules if she ever wants to get her friends and family awake again, but when more truoble stirs, will sabrina be able to finish the hunt- or will her friends and family face a lifetime of dreams and nightmares? U NEED 2 FIND OUT!!!

This book makes me feel to not stop reading!
I would love to suggest this book to everyone
else who loves to read Sabrina books!
well anyways have a nice day and dont
forget to order this wonderful book!
From Madihah

Steve Karmen gives you a close up look at the advertising business from his point of view, the ad jingle composer. What once was an advertising staple, the jingle, well remembered by this boomer, has morphed into a cloning of pop songs. The unique jingle has gone the way of the horse and buggy, never to return. Not cutting edge enough, the author laments. Karmen's writing is relaxed, you get the feeling he is telling this story just to you. A very interesting read, difficult to put down, you will get to the end much too quickly.

In a review printed on the back cover of 'Who Killed the Jingle?' Joey Levine writes "For those in the business and those planning on entering it, read it and weep." That pretty much sums up this book. Karmen discusses the importance of networking in the industry, legal issues, union issues, fending for oneself in the world of corporate giants, and the industry today. Karmen writes from a "good old days" approach - lamenting the disappearance of original and memorable advertising. Sadness aside, this is an invaluable book for anyone trying to make it in the aural advertising industry.

I just reread this book to my daughter and loved it all over again. Does anyone know if Ted Allen is a pen name for Roald Dahl?

I read this book when I was little and it is just as good when I re-read it recently. The story, and the title, is unusual but the illustrations by Quentin Blake make the story come alive.

An essential book for children and those who will always be young at heart