Radio Books

Four of the best Tin Tin Adventures that send you to a journey of exploration in South America, beatifull, i'm 40 years old and continue to enjoy reading this.

Since I have not read this book ,I can not draw a conclusion.If this book can help me to solve some design problem ,then I'll regard it usefull.

Fraggle Rock: 2008 Wall Calendar This is for Every child with a great imagination. The colors are vivid and the days are large enough to write nites in. Suck as a doctors appointment !

Frank and Anne Hummert were two of the most influential, but enigmatic icons of Radio's Golden Age. Through their Air Features Inc. production company, they were a dominant force in network radio for much of the Golden Age. While this very private couple were the most prolific producers of radio series, they were reclusive and very little has been written about them. Author Jim Cox has rectified this omission with his enlightening new book, "Frank and Anne Hummert's Radio Factory." Jim has unearthed extensive biographical information on the Hummerts. His book not only provides insight into their private lives, but also the professional backgrounds and activities of Radio's Golden Age most prolific series creator-producers. Additionally, Jim provides vignettes that give glimpses into the Hummert's private and business lives.

The Hummerts were astute business people who were acutely attuned to the likes and dislikes of American radio audiences. In the pages of "Frank and Anne Hummert's Radio Factory," we learn that they were responsible for least 125 radio series. Two dozen of these series were on the air for a minimum of a decade. At least 25 Hummert series were on the network airwaves each year between 1934 and 1948.

The eccentric Hummerts were often seemingly contradictory in their dealings with their employees. They paid the lowest wages in the industry, gave little artistic credit to their writers and performers, and were quick to fire those who displeased them. However, they were loyal to those who met their standards and observed their edicts. During the Communist scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s, they refused to fire employees who were blacklisted.

While the Hummerts produced 61 radio soap opera series and are mainly remembered for being pioneers of the genre, they did not neglect other popular genres. They produced 37 musical or variety series, 10 mystery series, eight children's series, and nine series of other genres. The Hummert's endeavors in each of these genres are covered in separate chapters in the book.

There is also a very interesting chapter on Irna Phillips and Elaine Carrington, the Hummerts' primary competition in the production of daytime serial dramas. The chapter includes biographical sketches of both women and a discussion of the styles of the soap operas of Carrington and Phillips in which they compared and contrasted with those of the Hummerts.

There are also several informative appendices, a standard feature of books by Jim Cox. They are: a chronology of the Hummerts' lives; descriptions of each of the 125 Hummert-created, adapted, supervised, or influenced radio series; a collection of quotations attributed to the Hummerts that express their philosophy of broadcast programming; a list of the most active radio producers of Radio's Golden Age with their most famous series; and typical broadcast schedules of Hummert series.

Jim Cox's new book knowledgeably fills a long-standing void in Old-Time Radio history. This volume gives the reader a new insight into and understanding of two of the most influential, but least known gaints of Radio's Golden Age.

Fred Allen, who lived from 1894-1956, is best remembered for his feud with Jack Benny and a skit on his own radio program in the later years, "Allen's Alley", which featured four dwellers of various ethnic backgrounds responding to Allen's news of the day question. This book by Robert Taylor came along in 1989, 40 years after Fred's radio show ended. The book examines Fred's life from childhood on through vaudeville and radio...it also examines why Fred was a 'radio' comedian and not a TV comedian. his relationship with corporate america was strained to put it mildly. his ad-libs about network vice-presidents and censorship had him in constant trouble with network executives. his bitter relationship with NBC's censor is recounted: several of his shows would abruptly end in mid-sentence because the censor found something offensive. at times his satire was so biting that NBC would often demand re-writes. he wrote his own programs with a little help from writers that might sub-mit ideas. His entire radio era, 1932-1949, is examined and each program is given some print. "Town Hall Tonight" was his major program from 1934-1939 on NBC and on CBS it was "Texaco Star Theatre" from 1940-1944. Hypertension forced him off the air in 1944-1945. When he returned to radio in the fall of 1945 he debuted a new skit, "Allen's Alley", which featured announcer Kenny Delmar as 'Senator Claghorne'; later versions contained the other classic dweller's of Parker Fennelly as 'Titus Moody'; Minerva Pious as 'Mrs. Nussbaum'; and Peter Donald as 'Ajax Cassidy'. Alan Reed would later appear as 'Falstaff Openshaw'.Taylor also talks about why Fred's radio show ended in 1949. Much is made of Fred's hatred for TV but ironically from 1954-1956 Fred was a regular panelist on "What's My Line?". Fred's life with Portland Hoffa, his wife, is recounted from the day they met until that fateful day in 1956 when the police found Fred's body along the streets of New York. he had a heart attack while strolling through the street near Carnegie Hall.this book gives you the complete picture of Fred Allen, one of the most brilliant ad-libbers of his era and he in many ways was the David Letterman of the '30s and '40s with sarcastic, dry wit about the establishment. Letterman's frequent jokes about his own network (CBS) is a direct result of Fred Allen doing the same thing on NBC radio...only thing different is that Fred was the first to do it and suffered the most for it as does any trail-blazer.

I came across National Public Radio many years ago just tooling around the FM dial. I found "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" and was hooked by the interview at the time, with Clint Eastwood. The questions were ones I would want to ask him. I was intrigued by this voice I have never heard before on radio, sophisticated, smart, smooth, curious, and down to earth. No commercial radio hype, none of the exaggeration for a big news story, not a celebrity exclusive. I've since heard this audio compilation of the the comedians interviewed on "Fresh Air laughs" and loved it. This isn't just a side splitting laugh a minute tape, it also brings you a realization that these are real people. The Bill Murray interview is so unlike his performer identity we all know that you have to listen to it carefully, because Terry brings out his humanity with her interview style. We get to listen to conversation that has substance and not just style. This is a tape you can sink your teeth into, it's that thick.

This is a beautiful little book about a man dedicated to his craft and the relationship he developed with a radio commentator 40 years his junior. Bob Edwards brings Red Barber to life and anyone fortunate enough to have heard their all too short weekly get togethers will enjoy the background information on the amazing Red Barber.
Edwards voice is familiar to millions but he grew to respect and admire this (perhaps) old fashioned southern gentleman and his gentle ways. Barber was truly a man of strong convictions and a basic goodness that shines through in this book. Heartwarming and fascinating.

This is an excellent book and I recommend it for all amateur radio operators and short wave listeners. Requires some knowledge of Algebra, but written in plain language that anyone interested in the hobby of radio will be able to understand.

It will be of greatest interest to those that run low power QRP stations on what signal level is required and when to communicate around the world.

Do not let the out of print stop you from ordering, Tyndar Press is still in operation and Amazon.Com will get you a copy.

Nearly a decade after publishing their first collection of comedy sketches, "Write If You Get Work", Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding were back in 1983 with this, their second volume of prize nonsense from their fertile imaginations, spoofing the world of television and radio. Nobody ever wrote comedy like Bob and Ray, and as they might have put it, our loss is their gain.

"From Approximately Coast To Coast...It's The Bob And Ray Show" catches the duo, mostly known for their network radio work in the 1950s and 1960s, in a late-career upswing. The year before, they had been given a regular cross-country radio gig for the first time in decades, courtesy of National Public Radio. David Letterman sang their praises on his new talk show, where Bob's son Chris lent a hand in on-air sketches. It all began in 1979, when the producers of "Saturday Night Live" devoted a special episode to the pair. Bob & Ray covered Rod Stewart's "D'Ya Think I'm Sexy" and introduced themselves to Generation X. By 1984, they were performing at Carnegie Hall.

The pair seemed reinvigorated by all this, and "From Approximately..." includes a fair amount of then-fresh material. The line on Bob & Ray was they were wry and droll, which usually doesn't translate to laugh-out-loud humor, but this book has some real gut-punchers. Just try and keep a straight face reading it.

A TV reporter from Baraboo, Wisconsin plants himself below Buckingham Palace after the 1981 Royal Wedding to demand an exclusive interview with Prince Charles. "I'm warning you, Chuck! I can wait this thing out as long as you can!"

Author Alfred E. Nelson admits his American history book contains some glaring errors (the Civil War happening in 1911, Abe Lincoln riding to his inauguration in a limousine) but points out the book is leatherbound, "and the pages are glossy."

B&R even have at the evening soaps of the 1980s, with their own version of "Dallas-Dynasty-Falcon Crest" called "Garrish Summit," featuring the lead-mining Murchfield family. "Lead is in my blood", says Rodney Murchfield, who threatens to strangle his suspiciously long-lost "brother" Caldwell while simultaneously counting out an endless number of paper clips.

There's some older material here, too, including one of their most famous sketches, where Ray interviews the president of "The Slow Talkers Of America" to his regret. It's a funny read, but an even better listen, which points up a minor, unavoidable flaw of the book; that you lose something not hearing the sketches as performed by the pair, with their distinctive voices and subtle mannerisms.

The unique whimsy of Bob and Ray comes through anyway, in its cast of self-absorbed mediocrities, of snide interviewers barely able to conceal their contempt for those they interview. (Bob to a 10-inch-high man in need of dental care: "Well, there's nothing more tragic to behold than the suffering of a fellow human - or whatever you are.") The radio age had passed them by in 1983, but they still had something to say, and in the cacophony that is mass media today, that message of bemused chagrin seems more on-point than ever.

The Moriartys are known for their storytelling...Micheal's book is no exception. As a child, nine years of age, I met Micheal in Dingle,Eire. My folks caught up on the relatives here in the US and "across the pond." Little did I know that our memories would be published. A stunned Irishman in Miami, Florida was thrilled to meet one of Micheal's "relations." Micheal (say Me-haul) 's book is worth the read!!!