Radio Books

Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding were a pair of brilliant and all too little-known comedians who came out of the golden age of radio. Their comedy was quite simply an endless satire of radio broadcasting itself. Actually, "comedians" sounds two obvious for their deadpan, parodistic humor - I think perhaps "comic artists" is more approriate. Instead of telling jokes, this comedic duo performed little plays where humor is created through characterization, irony, and word-play. This is verbal wit and high comedy at its best. Bob and Ray were too subtle to ever become really popular, but they always had a small and devoted following. Their dry, offbeat humor is impossible to adequately describe - you have to experience it to understand it. This award-winning compilation comes from the twilight of their long career - the 1980's. These particular performances come from Bob and Ray's Public Radio Show, and were recorded in front of a live audience, which only adds to the fun. There are dozens of B & R sketches here, including numerous installments of their hilarious mock-soap opera, "Garish Summit". Many classic B & R characters make apperances. Buy these cassettes and be prepared to become delirious with laughter!

Bob and Ray's low-key humor is perfect for long drives. I have the four volumes of "The Best of Bob & Ray." Each volume has four audiocassettes, each audiocassette with two 30-minute shows that will keep you in stitches and make the miles fly. "Garish Summit" is without a doubt the greatest soap opera ever to make you laugh so hard your nose runs.Volume 1 will have you longing for Wing Po, Traveling Philosopher, to come by and read your woodpile.

This is a wonderful set. Everybody is just so good. John Dehner is in a bunch of episodes and this guy was no slouch. First class acting all the way!!! Wonderful ensemble cast and terrific writing. The stories are excellent. I really enjoyed this set.

As a connoiseur of radio, I can say confidently that "Gunsmoke" has no peer. The nuances, the music, the sound effects, and even the dramatic silences all heighten the effect of superb stories acted by great radio talent. William Conrad is the perfect anti-hero, often doubting himself, but always ruefully accepting his mission eventually. The great supporting cast (Parley Baer, Georgia Ellis & Howard McNear) brings the characters to life in a more realistic way than the TV show. This collection is a good sampling of these shows, presented just as they were broadcast.

I so enjoy listening to books on tape while traveling. This book was unbelieveably poigniant in its ability to portray the thoughts and feelings of those who experienced this last century. At times, it was very difficult to keep listening, but we knew we had to finish the story. Our only wish was that this tape would have been twice as long.

I listen to tapes in the car every day, when I'm not listening to NPR, and this is one of the best tapes I've ever played. The stories are fascinating, poignant, and extremely revealing about what it is really like to be present at "historic" events.

I highly recommend the tape.

I bought this book for my daughter for Christmas who is a huge Independant music fan and a musician in Minneapolis. She is 21 and loved it !! She was raised on WXPN in the Philadelphia area.

The Best of World Cafe: Great Conversations from NPR's Most Popular Contemporary Music ShowHow great! David Dye has published some of his best interviews of his many done at the "World Cafe" WXPNs wonderful program that now has a world wide exposure to the new music scene. For anyone wishing to know about the backgrounds of your inde music groups and singer songwriters this book is a delight. The live shows are broadcast on NPR from the Philadelphia venue. A fun read.

The only problem with this book was that it was too short. It was written when Pat Weaver was a very old man, and that sort of comes across in the telling, which is good in some ways (being old enough to remember things that happened way back) and not so good in others (the stories are sort of brief and sometimes fragmentary). However it is a irreplaceable memoir of some of the most interesting (to me) developments of the last century.

One surprise in the book was that so much of it dealt with one of my all-time heroes, Fred Allen of radio fame. Weaver was the liaison man between his advertising firm, Young & Rubicam, and Allen. The history of advertising, the ad industry and the large agencies, are a pet interest of mine. Mass advertising, I believe, is (and has been for 80+ years) the single greatest influence on American culture. Before he went on to be a network executive, Weaver was in the center of the move of the ad industry to radio in a truly big way. There had always been commercial advertising in radio, of course, but up till the early 30s, it was mostly localized and scattershot. In the early 30s, the big advertisers (like Proctor & Gamble) and big agencies (like Y&R) were taking the big plunge for the first time, and Weaver has much to say about this.

Allen was notorious for his bad relations with sponsors and network management, which he saw as brainless, no-talent interferers. Weaver, it seemed, was the only ad guy he could tolerate, and it was this relationshiop which allowed Allen to create what was, to me, to greatest body of work in old time radio. Weaver left Y&R early on in Allen's career, and most of Allen's later career was marred by scraps with the suit & tie boys, but by that time he was established firmly enough to survive them.

Another unexpected bonus to this book was Weaver's long chapter dealing with George Washington Hill, the head of American Tobacco and one of the most interesting and important characters in mid-20th century America. Weaver's portrait of Hill was generous and admiring, which would be considered very un-PC today, since Hill, probably more than any other man, was responsible for America's cigarette habit when it was at its height in the 30s, 40s and into the 50s.

There is also an interesting, and very unflattering, word cameo of Albert Lasker, the father of modern advertising who held a low, low place in Weaver's esteem. General Sarnoff, NBC president, comes off pretty poorly as well, though his son Robert is treated sympathtically. It seemed to be a case similar to that of Henry & Edsel Ford, where the father, a truly giant & important American figure, but a narrow-minded jerk in personality and action, dominated a benign and well-meaning son.

It is also of great interest to read Weaver's story as that of a man who was so completely a "winner in life's lottery". He was born into a rich and socially prominent family, went to the best schools and univerities, amongst family friends who would later go on to great fame & riches (Rosalind Russell for example), married a beautiful wife, had a daughter who would become famous and a brother who was a well-known comedian, got every job he ever wanted, was successful in everything he ever did, made a great impact in his chosen field to universally laudatory acclaim, even amongst the critics of the mass media he served. (He has always been credited with trying to elevate the public taste with his innovations in broadcasting, earning the respect even of intellectuals who hated such things as radio & TV).

An example of his smoothness was his dealing with the so-called horrors of the the anti-red blacklists of the early 50s. While every other tale of this period is filled with hand-wringing angst, Weaver sez he just told worried advertisers that he would not black-ball anyone without good reason and that if they wanted to pull their accounts, he had others lined up begging to buy the time they were willing to give up. To him, the blacklists were no big deal. He basically ignored them, which would have been a good policy for the whole industry.

He was tall, handsome, athletic, rich and lived to a very old age. It didn't seem he ever had a hiccup in the whole smooth stream of his life. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and during that life it turned to gold.

It sounds boring, but it ain't.

Pat Weaver is not as famous as he should be. He's the man who created the 'magazine concept' type of television advertising that we know today. Had he not done this television would have taken a completely different path. Weaver gives us the gossip about David Sarnoff and many others who were resposible for the birth of broadcast media in America. The book is too simply written at times, almost childlike, but really, that's okay because it's a nice 'mind-candy' way to get a great lesson in media history.

Stephanie and her two freinds try to fix Joey up on a date.They write a personal ad in a magazine.They get over 1,000 replies from the ad.They went through the mail and picked five dates for Joey to go on.They all had something wrong with them the first one wasa russian woman and she beat joey over the head with her purse.The second one was horrible the date never even happend.And the third went the same way.The fourth date was a man who didnt know it was Joey that was looking for a date.The Last and final date was with some one named Risa.Little did they know that Risa was actually Danny's date Marrisa.She dumped Danny to go out with Joey.That was on Valentines day and Danny and Joey were depressed.Stephanie while all that was going on she was trying to make a valentine for Kyle Sullivan.In the end her and Kyle Went out on a date for valentines.

I loved this book! It was one of the best books I've read in a long time. I would rate this 20 stars if the scoring went that high. Very funny. I'd reccomend this to any Full House fan.

This book is a great historic full of history and triumph that has made radio/ disc jockey's /music and players what it is today. It allows you to understand and feel what Black muscians had to go through to be noticed and recognized. I recommend all muscians to read this and appreciate the very men and women that have certainly paved the way into the new Millienium. A good read with great pictures.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I have it on my coffee table for everyone to see. The book tells you all about the first black Disc Jockey in Chicago all the way up to the mid 60's. I enjoyed the pictures which also told their own story as well.

If you do not already know who Bob and Ray were, I would be hard-put to sum them up briefly. They were a brilliant comedy team who came of age in the golden age of radio and whose sketches endlessly satirized radio braodcasting itself. They created a large cast of comic characters, stretching their pliable voices a million different ways. Their humor was subtle and refined - they were two of the greatest deadpan comics of all time.

Bob and Ray's main medium was radio - they were shy men who did not generally work well on stage or TV. But they did do two stage shows - the first was a Broadway show in the 1970's called "The Two and Only", and the second was in the 1980's and was called "A Night of Two Stars". I recommend this recording only to those who already know and love Bob and Ray. It is not a good introduction to Bob and Ray's work as a whole. Some of the sketches are not very well chosen, in my opinion. But Carnegie Hall is here packed with Bob and Ray fans - people who grew up on this wonderful duo - and the atmosphere is infectious. Bob and Ray bring out some of their classic characters, and the audience cheers them on as if they were old friends. What a wonderful way to end their remarkably long career (Bob and Ray did comedy together from 1946 to Ray's death in 1990). What a wonderful farewell to these remarkable gentlemen of comedy. Also be sure to get CLASSIC BOB AND RAY, BOB AND RAY: THE LOST EPISODES, (both of which show B & R in their prime) and the award-winning BEST OF BOB AND RAY (from their public radio show in the 1980's)

If you do not already know who Bob and Ray were, I would be hard-put to sum them up briefly. They were a brilliant comedy team who came of age in the golden age of radio and whose sketches endlessly satirized radio braodcasting itself. They created a large cast of comic characters, stretching their pliable voices a million different ways. Their humor was subtle and refined - they were two of the greatest deadpan comics of all time.

Bob and Ray's main medium was radio - they were shy men who did not generally work well on stage or TV. But they did do two stage shows, one of which was "A Night of Two Stars" from the 1980's (the twilight of their career). I recommend this recording only to those who already know and love Bob and Ray. It is not a good introduction to Bob and Ray's work as a whole; some of the sketches are not very well chosen, in my opinion. But die-hard Bob and Ray devotees will love this. Carnegie Hall is packed with Bob and Ray fans - people who grew up on this wonderful duo - and the atmosphere is infectious. Bob and Ray bring out some of their classic characters, and the audience cheers them on as if they were old friends. What a wonderful way to end their remarkably long career (Bob and Ray did comedy together from 1946 untill Ray's death in 1990). What a wonderful farewell to these remarkable gentlemen of comedy. And best of all, we get the wonderful Al Hirschfeld caricature on the cover! Also be sure to get CLASSIC BOB AND RAY, BOB AND RAY: THE LOST EPISODES, (both of which show B & R in their prime) and the award-winning BEST OF BOB AND RAY (from their public radio show in the 1980's).

As with the previous reviewers comments, this is a great synopsis of the broadcasting world in Malaysia. It would benefit from a revised edition, particularly to reflect the efforts of RTM to expand to the new media formats (Internet broadcasting, etc.)

The book provides excellent background knowledge which is useful to anyone in the region's broadcast history, or anyone interested in regional broadcast network developement. The research is in depth, and explores all governmental and cultural influences which steered the path of broadcast in the Malaysian-Indonesian archipelago. However, the information requires updating for Malaysia at least, as the addition of two new private terrestrial stations (Metrovision and NTV in Kuala Lumpur) and the two competing Pay TV services (Mega TV [cable] and Astro [satellite]), and the planned privatization of RTM2. For history, Broadcasting in the Malay World is a valuable reference, but hopefully Drew McDaniel will be authoring an updated version in the near future to reflect the current state of the industry in the archipelago.

...hearing Murrow's "This is London." The first time was while visiting my grandparents. My grandfather took me into the kitchen and closed the door before turning on the radio because my grandmother didn't want to hear it. I was only 10 years old, and I'm sure I didn't understand the full significance of what I heard until much later. Nevertheless, it has stuck with me. It was one of the nights when Murrow was outside and we could hear the air raid siren in the background. (If I stop to think about it for a moment, I can still hear the siren's distinctive wail in my "mind's ear.") Seib's book is a superb addition to the shelves of books about the beginning of World War II because it deals with an aspect of how U.S. involvement came about that I do not recall reading elsewhere. The focus is on Murrow because he was so influential in forming Americans' opinions about the importance of sustaining England as it fought the Nazi menace alone, but the work of other journalists is also cited. (I have a small nit to pick here: the name of The New Yorker writer is Mollie Panter-Downes, not Painter-Downes.) Seib writes well, and his narrative moves quickly and to the point. There are no wasted words. Anyone with an interest in the early days of the war should read this book.

The difference between reporting the news and leading the country has never been clear, and Edward R. Murrow was a master at both.

While reading this book on his broadcasting from London during the early days of the war, don't forget his broadcast that ended the career of Joseph McCarthy. Murrow understood that his reporting influenced American public opinion.

There are those who rail against his sense of ethics in combining reporting the news with what you might call propaganda. Perahps he should be judged instead by the result. He helped prepare the US for a war that we could probably not avoid.

This is the story of a strange time, and what one key player did.

BROADCASTS FROM THE BLITZ: HOW EDWARD R MURROW HELPED LEAD AMERICA INTO WAR is for any who would understand early broadcast journalism's effect on war and peace. Murrow's 'This is London' opening brought the blitz home to Americans who would've otherwise been distanced by war events: he told why Americans wouldn't be able to avoid involvement, and he prepared the country with his moment-by-moment broadcasts of events. His agenda was to bring America into the war - and more than any politician, he alone helped prepare the American public for such involvement. This far-reaching story will interest a wide audience, from students of broadcast journalism to those interested in military history and social issues alike. Highly recommended indeed.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch