Radio Books

The footnotes for each episode are by the far the best part of this book.

I was exposed to this series in reverse!! I read the books, then saw the BBC shows, and finally heard the BBC radio show. There are subtle and not so subtle differences in all the different media, but they are all pure Douglas Adams!!! The radio scripts are an essential, and clarify (At least for me they did) many things that were not co clear. Not everyone is drawn to the scripts of the favorite shows/broadcasts, but as I have all the scripts for the Monty Python shows, it works for me. Especially if you are a fan of "British" humor, most of which lies in the dialog, it is pure delight to read through these scripts!!

So, you've read the books... bought the tv series on dvd, gone through all the special features (including the comment captions on the film)... read the biographies... and hunted up collectors items on ebay. What next?

Get this book. "The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts" contains many scenes not in the books and, if you've already heard the radio series, many lines that were trashed for time. There is also commentary after each episode by Perkins and Adams.

Some things will seem eerily familiar, then zoom off into a completely different direction and, in my opinion, a better direction. Of course, some things are missing that make the books equally essential.

You can currently get this at a pretty good price used from amazon. Get it now before you can't get it at all.

Although it requires a fair amount of effort to sift through the directions and radio-style writing, the reward is some stuff that I, frankly, find much funnier than much of the Hitchhiker novel series. Recommended to anyone who wants a good laugh, and especially to Hitchhiker fans.

...life forms are required to use a seldom-exercised ability called "imagination" which, with effort, allows the user to paint a mental tapestry that is superior in many respects to any computer generated image or subjective image of perfection.

(takes a breath)

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy goes on a bit about the relative superiority of radio as a medium that stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain, but it also notes several references to various works that endure in a medium regarded as deader than the telegraph.

The Hitchhiker's Guide is not only proof that radio is still a viable medium for drama, but that Douglas Adams is a genius. The show, scripted week-by-week by DNA and Geoffrey Perkins was easily translated to books and television with minimal edits. Yes, the second series is a bit off the ultimate track, but it is quite original and the foot notes from Douglas and Perkins are very insightful. These footnotes exist as a log of what took place when it all began and, sadly, as the only memoir to them.

If you can find it, get it.

I play this CD whenever I need to laugh. It is classic funny Prairie Home Companion humor, both intellectual and silly.

Garrison Keillor can leave me cold, but these collections are a great distraction in the car on trips. Virtually all the jokes I already know, but they are still fun to hear and draw an occasional laugh.

The four CDs in this collection are great entertainment, albeit a bit ribald, from Garrison Keilor's NPR radio shows. I've bought several copies for friends and even sent a couple of copies to our troops in the mid-east. My son says it helped boost morale when he was there. Avoid it if you're easily offended, but great fun for the rest of us.

This is the best way I know to get through a long road trip laughing. It will also take your mind off your worries, because you have to really pay attention to keep up with the rapid fire delivery style and you can't think about much else at the same time. This has become a classic in our home, and a great gift for everyone who says, "I have to have that for myself!"

I got a cassette tape of the first PHC joke show years ago and just about wore it out from playing it to keep me alert and upbeat on road trips. Now I found this compilation on 4 CDs and I'm laughing more than ever. Sure, there are sophomoric jokes, 3rd grade jokes, puns, groaners and old chestnuts you've heard before, but somehow they all work when presented by Garrison, Roy Blount, Paula Poundstone and the rest. I love it!

I thought this book was very well done. Detaild information and is explained as if you have no idea about the process and job of a radio producer, which I didn't. This is a great explanation for anyone working in radio in any aspect.

If you listen to the radio and ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes, this book is for you. The authors provide an often humorous description of the day to day activities that are done to bring the listener must-hear radio. Even the technical chapters were written in a way that somebody like me who has no connection to radio (other than listening) could understand and find interesting. Whether you are in the broadcasting field or just interested in radio, this book is well worth purchasing. The book was enjoyable to read and it gives the reader a new appreciation for what happens behind the scenes to bring the listener a good radio show.

I'm not really that familiar with radio production, but am more interested in the creative process in general, and I found this to be a worthwhile and engaging read. The writers are entertaining and personable, and make everything that they talk about exciting and interesting to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I worked with John Swanson at WTMX for almost 2 years, though not along side of him. I read this book and learned an large amount of what a producer does. It helped me out in a college radio show I do. Since it's a small station we don't have producers, so it's up for the DJ to do everything. This book made it easy to understand what I need to do for a successful show.

I have nothing to do with radio and I stumbled across this book to get a peek into the world of radio production. If you want to get into radio in any capacity, this book paints a great picture of how good shows are put together day in and day out.

If you don't want to get into radio or if you do but you just can't seem to escape those golden handcuffs at Fargenflam Inc., then this book is still a good read. As Rick and John bring you deeper and deeper into their radio producing world, they share many stories that add humor and depth to the subject matter.

It's a good read. I liked it but I am sticking to the much simpler world of TV.

Randall Cross
MTV Networks

The mystery is beyond our imagination. The background and characters truly victorian, and above all the narrative very gripping! Oh! I am re-reading and every time I enjoy even though I know the mystery! Once again, Poirot at his best with his passion for order and method.

I have listened to these BBC radio adaptations many times over the last 15 years and am always entertained by the quality of the stories, the actors, and the plots. "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is simply a brilliant mystery, one of Agatha's best, with a dozen legitimate suspects and a most ironic ending. This mystery takes place in a village Hercule had retired to to raise "vegetables" and was having a devil of a time at it. But, murder followed Poirot to the country and he did his best to confound the police, the suspects, and even the murderer. "Murder on the Links" is also a wonderful mystery with several suspects and two corpses not one. By the time Poirot and Hastings travel to France in response to a summons from a rich man who was concerned about his safety, the man has been brutally murdered. Captain "Arthur" Hastings plays an active role in this mystery, falling for one of the suspects in a big way. The John Moffatt's portrayal of Hercule Poirot, the Belgian wonder, is always classic and is so in both of these stories. I stongly recommend these BBC radio shows to all Agatha Christie fans, especially those that enjoy Hercule Poirot.

As a Christie addict, having read all of her Poirot and Marple stories many times over, I can only say that "Roger Ackroyd" stands out as the best of the best. Even now, knowing the ending, I enjoy rereading the book, with all the delicious and subtle (but misleading) hints to the grand conclusion. And to the first-time reader, the ending comes as quite a surprise. The fabled Miss Christie leads the reader down so many lovely garden paths before the perfectly logical denouement! Delicious! The audio version is beautifully performed, and does proper justice to the book.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of the best Agatha Christies stories. The plot is a true Agatha Christie's type: dead body, plenty of suspects, confused police, and shocked family. Brilliant Hercule Poirot solves the murder mystery as well as throwing light upon other little secrets of the victim's family. An unusual ending that no one even suspects gives the story its unrepeatable flavor.

If totally unexpected endings aren't your favorite, you might be a bit disappointed with this one. However, for the lovers of Christie's wit and creativity this book is a must have.

Hercule Poirot was a short, fat, dapper detective who solved his cases by exercising his "little grey cells".

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was Christie's fourth Poirot novel, while "Murder on the Links" was her second. In both Christie adopts the motif of narrating the story from the point of view of someone who undertakes to assist Poirot in the solution of the mystery. Christie introduces the cast of suspects, gives each of them a dark secret and a motive to lie, and piles up the circumstances in such a way that the flying fickle finger of suspicion points to every one of them at some time or another. She compounds the confusion by supplying false leads and deliberatly glossing over hot clues.

In each case Poirot holds his cards close to his vest, tantalizes the reader/listener with cryptic comments, and finds the most inconsequential-appearing facts to be highly significant. Eventually Poirot airs everyone's dirty laundry, explains his chain of deductive reasoning, reconstructs the crime in all its improbable complexity, and gets a confession. The stories are less mysteries than they are sliding block puzzles. Though extremely short on realism, they are long on entertainment value.

Although the BBC radio play had excellent production values, audio cassette may not be the best way to enjoy a Poirot mystery. I listen to radio plays as I drive on business, and I find the Poirot plays hard to follow because of the large cast of characters and the complexities of plotting. Poirot could probably be enjoyed more readily in print. You could then read, re-read, take time out to mull over the complexities, and follow the story much better. Probably the best way to enjoy Poirot would be to read the story first, and then listen to the radio play.

Airwaves is O'Shaughnessy at hist best! From Mario Cuomo to Nelson Rockefeller, Airwaves gives a unique insight into some of the most fascinating figures of the Empire State and beyond. The candid conversations shed new light on the personal aspects of these rich characters who have helped shaped the state. O'Shaughnessy puts his guests at ease with a flair born from years of interviews and radio editorials that made the legendary broadcaster who he is today.

return we us now to those days of yesteryear..

The book is implemental to the collections of book lovers everywhere. I'm the same age as the author and I have not even half the amount of stories he has to tell. And, I don't even have half the amount of hair. WOW! What a book!

Nobody captures the essence of society's colorful characters like O'Shaughnessy. His perspectives on freedom of speech and The First Amendment are inspirational.

William O'Shaughnessy is everything we love about the Irish. He's irreverent, colorful, warm, and kind. This collection of radio editorials would be worth far more than its price if you were to receive only pages 61-64 for your money. (Think of the other 387 excellent pages as coming "at no extra charge.")

I was conducting a seminar in Manhattan for the great Joe Riley when I was introduced to Bill. I gave him a copy of my latest book and he gave me a copy of his, this (just released) Airwaves. I wasn't expecting much... but then I'm an idiot.

William O'Shaughnessy beggared America by limiting his radio commentary to Westchester County, New York. He should have been a network anchor.

Even though the book has a somewhat regional "New York" flavor, (I'm from Texas,) I liked it.

Bill! Write us another one!

I bought this book because it was a textbook for a sportscasting class that I am currently taking. The insights and working wisdom in this book are phenomenal! I can see why the professor, an ESPN alum, chose to use this as his textbook. The interviews are well written and explain not only the subtleties of sportscasting, but also hammer home the basic fundamentals of good sports broadcasting. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to broadcast, from little leagues to the pros.

Probably the best primer on breaking in. I use this text in a course I teach. Well recommended by other collegues.

Len Clark station manager of WUEV-FM, A Practical Guide for Success for Beginners and Professionals Aspiring to the Next level Tom Hedrick and Diamond Communications have published the ultimate text for students interested in pursuing a career in sports broadcasting, and for practing broadcast professionals. This step by step guide offers insight and advice to help individuals each and every step of the way.

This book gave me more info than any other book of its kind. I would recommend this book to anyone. Even if you weren't already interested in sportscasting before reading this book--you will be by the time you finish!

If you are just starting out in the business , this is the book for you , due to its insight on not just the game itself , but the before (preparation) , during (working with others) , and after (reviewing your work) aspects of the job. For those who have been in the business , but are looking to take that next step , this is the book for you. My first time out after reading this book , my interviews were crisper , my work with others was more professional , and the end result was a more solid product. If you are serious about sportscasting as a career , this book will give you the insight to help make it happen!

Small heafty book feels good in your hand and is a total pleasure to read. I kept reading "jokes" and "wisdoms" from the book to my husband and couldn't wait to read the next little chapter. I hated the book to end. What a wit Bruce Bellingham is!

"Bellingham by the Bay" is relaxing reading -- and entertaining. It's something I keep by the bed. I'm a retired English Lit teacher and when the world grows too serious, I keep returning to "Bellingham" for its good writing and witty, irreverent insights. At my age, laughter is a great elixir. Try it!

I was overwhelmed by how engaging this book is. It is, indeed, staggeringly good -- the writing is casual and accessible but Bellingham maintains an endearing respect for both his subjects and his readers. I question why it is simply categorized "Humor." Though it drips with insurrmountable wit, it goes beyond being funny. It's a riveting memoir and passages, such as Bellingham's experience in the Bay Area earthquake of 1989 is downright excellent reporting. With all of the romance and literary history that come off the pages, I think a visit to San Francisco is in order this summer. I've bought several copies to donate to my high school library (Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest, New Jersey, where I teach English, Journalism and Film) as well as a number of branches of the local public library.

WARNING: DO NOT BUY ONE COPY OF THIS BOOK! You will need at least two copies whether you buy it for yourself or for a gift. Don't think you can pick this up as a gift, browse through it to pick up the highlights and then pass it along, no, you're going to want your own copy. And if you do pick it up for yourself, you will undoubtedly add it to your Christmas gift list. It's a great book for anyone; they just have to have a sense of humor. What makes it a keepr, though, is Bellingham's jabs are as insightful as they are funny, his one-liners are as timeless as they are topical. His slice of life encounters with various celebrities give the reader a fun account of the media scene in everybody's favorite city by the Bay. I practically read this book in one sitting because I kept saying, "just one more chapter" (they're short). It's that kind of book, a pick up and read anywhere book, a great "airplane book", if you will. Check it out for chuckles.

It makes you laugh out loud. Hail the apostles Bellingham! From Nigel, the rabbit - to Susan, the estranged wife - Looking at life through rose coloured glasses indeed.Why hasn't a daily picked this guy up? Bellingham, a man in love with his adopted city of San Francisco. Not a bit of underdone potato - as saterical writers tend to be. Curmundgeons have a hero - a passionate one at that.

This book is essentially an overview of the development and evolution of the Internet, ending with the browser war between Netscape and Microsoft. It was initially published in the UK in 1999, then in the US in 2000. There is some discussion of the intellectual backstories such as Norbert Wiener's cybernetics and JCR Licklider's ideas on interactive computing, but the book is mainly about the birth and growth of the Net. This book lacks detail - and is in that sense superficial - but it works well as the general overview the author meant it to be.

What does the Internet mean for the future? An answer partially depends upon an analysis of the past, and John Naughton's Brief History of the Future is the first book to cover the entire history of the Internet's development, from those who first thought of it in the 1940s to the scientists and engineers who brought it to life. Anecdotes blend with history to provide an intriguing blend of personal and scientific observation.

Reads like a sci-fi novel while providing a solid understanding of how and why the Internet works. At times the detail is almost overdone but this only adds to the credibility of the author. I started with a Timex Sinclair computer and have lived through the period covered in this book without really understanding just what made the internet work. Now I know!

Next time you take a transcontinental flight to a technical conference, skip the airline movie and just read this wonderful book cover to cover. I wish history class in high school had been this much fun. Naughton has written the definitive history of the Internet so far. For example, when the Pentagon asked AT&T to build an early prototype of the Internet for them, AT&T pooh-poohed packet switching as a worthless idea concocted by some young whippersnapper (Paul Baran of the Rand Corp.) who knew nothing about proper telephone engineering. The book is full of anecdotes and funny stories. Great reading for old fogies and young fogies alike.

I've worked in the software industry for twenty years, and now I finally have an entertaining, enjoyable book to give to friends and family who don't really understand what I do all day. If you've ever struggled to explain how the internet works, or why anybody would use it. This is the book. I gave a copy to my 77 year old flight instructor, he loved it.

I happen to live in the Cotswolds, the setting for this beautiful book, this Monet of literature. And, complying with the below reviews, I have to say that Stroud has become a concrete river, choked with litter, sidelined with Burger Stars, neon lights; a MacDonalds is in the blue print stages. Hills are lined with new developments. It's like, and I quote my mother, "A disease is spreading."

Yet there are places untouched by Americanisms, consumerism, electricity (and here I apologise, as this becomes less of a review, more an account of personal experience). But there are still rivers afloat with leaves, valleys deep that welcome sunsets. They frost the sky in winter, burn it by summer.

"There's beauty in decay," as someone said. Haven't got a clue who. But there you go. Although dying of shallow needs and commercial interests, snippets of the old way can be found. And in all their glory, too.

A book to read & re-read. Finely crafted & evocative of a now long ago & far away time and place.

This book was required reading during my childhood and, of course, I couldn't have dragged myself more slowly through it. How wise we become with age. This is an astonishing book. Lee is such a master of description that, after only a few pages, you slowly start to smell the fresh country air and hear the languid sounds of summer as you are inescabably drawn into the world of his childhood - a world that you realize has already faded into the mists of history. But this special time has not been lost - it has been captured forever in this irreplacable series of pictures. The people in these stories become more real than seems possible with only pen and ink: his characterizations are as clever as anything by Dickens or Dostoevski, and he catches the very essence of the sights, sounds and people around him with a charm unmatched by any other English writer. But this is not a story-book universe: the people in his young life have all the frailty, vanity, delight and tragedy that you would expect in any small community - but what other has been crystallized with such talent and wisdom. A wonderful work of art.

There should be more than five stars for books like this one. All the reviewers who wrote about how poetic yet concrete, magical yet real this account of boyhood in the Cotswolds have said it much better than I can. It is pure magic. I wish it was 20 times as long. You might also find this book under the title "The Edge of Day". If you loved "Cider With Rosie" you might also enjoy "Lark Rise to Candleford", "The Golden Evenings of Summer" and the movie "A Christmas Story".

Rooted in the earth and shining with long gone summers and freezing winters this is a beautiful and poignant flower of a book. Written in a sensuous and lyrical poetic prose it tells the story of the authors's boyhood in the Cotswolds of the West of England. Spinning round the great orb of his clutter-minded and loving mother are his sisters and wider village life. There is Illness, murder, private sorrow, boiling summer and frozen winter and finally the running down of the feudal clock as long awaited change comes to the valley. A book, more even - a place to be visited again and again...

In my opinion, Bob and Ray's stuff from the 1950's is by far their best. Then they were young, fresh - and often improvisatory! Classic Bob and Ray Volume 1 includes four episodes of "Matt Neffer, Boy Spotwelder", which has to be the most surreal, dream-like, (and utterly pointless) series ever conceived. There are also episodes of "One Fella's Family", another of B & R's great pieces. The bits with "Arthur Sturdley"
(a take-off on radio personality Arthur Godfrey) are priceless!

B & R's capacity for voices and characterization is amazing.
This little-known comedy duo will bring you endless laughter, joy, and emotional health. Long live Bob and Ray!

Note: I know that "Family" was a parody of the popular soap opera "On Man's Family" and of the show "Vic and Sade". But what was "Matt Neffer" based on, if anything? I'd be interested to know.

In my opinion, Bob and Ray's stuff from the 1950's is by far their best. Then they were young, fresh - and often improvisatory! Classic Bob and Ray Volume 1 includes four episodes of "Matt Neffer, Boy Spotwelder", which has to be the most surreal, dream-like, (and utterly pointless) series ever conceived. There are also episodes of "One Fella's Family", another of B & R's great pieces. The bits with "Arthur Sturdley"
(a take-off on radio personality Arthur Godfrey) are priceless!

B & R's capacity for voices and characterization is amazing.
This little-known comedy duo will bring you endless laughter, joy, and emotional health. Long live Bob and Ray!

Note: I know that "Family" was a parody of the popular soap opera "On Man's Family" and of the show "Vic and Sade". But what was "Matt Neffer" based on, if anything? I'd be interested to know.

Bob and Ray: Tippy the Wonder Dog; Mary Backstayge, Noble Wife; Mr. Science; and Prodidgy Street are just a few of my personal favorites. These wonders of comedy fill my heart with wonder and delight as Mary opens a fast-food toast restaurant or Gustav Groundhog sells merchendise. Bob and Ray surely were ahead of their times with witty, sharp stories that make you wonder... do dogs REALLY make ginger-ale soup?

In my opinion, Bob and Ray's stuff from the 1950's is by far their best. Then they were young, fresh - and often improvisatory! CLASSIC BOB AND RAY VOLUME 1 includes four episodes of "Matt Neffer, Boy Spotwelder", which has to be the most surreal, dream-like, (and utterly pointless) series ever conceived. There are also episodes of "One Fella's Family", another of B & R's great pieces. The bits with "Arthur Sturdley"
(a take-off on radio personality Arthur Godfrey) are priceless! So are the episodes of "Insomniac Theatre" and the reports from Wally Ballou and Artie Schermerhorn. B & R's capacity for voices and comic characterization is amazing. This little-known comedic duo will bring you endless laughter, joy, and emotional health. Long live Bob and Ray! And don't forget to buy THE BEST OF BOB AND RAY and BOB AND RAY, THE LOST EPISODES as well!

Note: I know that "One Fella's Family" was a parody of the popular soap opera "On Man's Family" and of the show "Vic and Sade". But what was "Matt Neffer" based on, if anything? I'd be interested to know.

Bob and Ray: Tippy the Wonder Dog; Mary Backstayge, Noble Wife; Mr. Science; and Prodidgy Street are just a few of my personal favorites. These wonders of comedy fill my heart with wonder and delight as Mary opens a fast-food toast restaurant or Gustav Groundhog sells merchendise. Bob anr Ray surely were ahead of their times with witty, sharp stories that make you wonder... do dogs REALLY make ginger-ale soup?