The Early Days of Radio Broadcasting by George H. Douglas

Abstract

342 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE fully, he argues, that, “By 1870, the photographic image was par with the printed word in human communication” (p. 273). Only Helena Wright’s paper focuses on photography as an art, examining how 19th-century American landscapes were produced, packaged, and sold by artist-entrepreneurs, many of whom hrst worked for the railroads or government surveying parties. Using the three Bierstadt brothers as a case study, she illuminates the complex relations between painting, engraving, and changes in photographic processes, partic­ ularly the Albertype. Her work admirably illustrates Jenkins’s conten­ tion that “the theories of science and the products of technology are reflections of their historical contexts and are expressions of the values, attitudes and conceptions of their society and culture” (p. 23). Unfortunately, few of the other essays provide much insight into the relations between photography and society. The volume as a whole is a useful record of technical developments of interest to specialists. David E. Nye Dr. Nye is an associate professor at Copenhagen University. He edited A Catalogue of the General Electric Photographic Archives, 1890-1940, and is the author of The Invented Self and image Worlds: Corporate Identities at General Electric. His most recent book, Electrifying America, is published by MIT Press. The Early Days ofRadio Broadcasting. By George H. Douglas. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland (Box 611 28640), 1987. Pp. viii + 248; illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $25.95+ $ 1.50 handling. George Douglas, in The Early Days ofRadio Broadcasting, attempts an “informal history” of American broadcast radio in the 1920s. Unfor­ tunately, a historically naive and nostalgic approach mars a book that might otherwise have been especially useful as a classroom text. Because Douglas poorly explains the underlying causes and effects of the events he describes, students would be left with information about, but little understanding of, broadcasting’s first decade. Doug­ las’s work embodies the shortcomings of narrative history without providing the virtues of a well-told story. The reader finds out what happened but not why, since the author fails to make sense of the chronology he outlines. This approach becomes critical in the discus­ sion of evolving radio technology. Douglas lists the technological changes that occur but presupposes a technical knowledge most people lack. In addition, he never talks about the interaction between the technological developments and the form taken by radio broad­ casting. The book presents little historical context for many of the events described. Douglas’s treatment of racial issues particularly suffers from this lack of historical framework. He discusses the absence of TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 343 jazz from the airwaves without taking racism into account. Individual radio stations, and later the networks, consciously avoided black music and performers for fear of alienating white listeners, exactly as happens on MTV today. The same lack of insight mars Douglas’s discussion of “Amos ’n Andy.” Without an understanding that this important early program emerged from the American minstrel tradition, a racist entertainment form stealing its ideas from AfricanAmericans and repaying them with degrading portrayals, “Amos ’n Andy” makes no sense. Finally, the text is too sparsely footnoted. While the bibliography is complete and current, many chapters have fewer than five footnotes, most of them citations to earlier, romanticized histories. Douglas discusses the important events, personalities, and trends in radio broadcasting of the 1920s, but gives the reader few clues about where he obtained his information. Students could find little help with research projects here. Teachers need a short history of radio broadcasting for use in colleges and high schools, but deficiencies in scope and content, a lack of historical vision, and poorly documented research make Douglas’s book unsuitable for this purpose. Susan Smui.yan Dr. Smit.v.-w, an assistant professor in the Department of American Civilization at Brown University, is writing a book on the commercialization of American broadcast radio. Recently she was a National Science Foundation Fellow at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Rock Eras: Interpretations of Music and Society 1954 — 1984. By Jim Curtis. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1987. Pp. 363; notes, index. $33.95 (cloth); $16.95 (paper). Jim Curtis has...