Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsHello Everybody!
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2010
I've always had a deep fascination with early mass media in America and had been reading a lot about early American Television. It seemed the next obvious progression in reading about this period would to continue back to the birth of the American Radio Industry in the book "Hello Everybody!: The Dawn of American Radio".
I couldn't help be reminded right away of the Woody Allen movie "Radio Days" with the first chapter of this book when it begins telling the story of Dr. Brinkley and KFKB of Milford, Kansas. At first I was curious where the author was going, but I realized just with the Woody Allen movie that what made radio was not only the shows and the technology, but the characters and stories that came with the medium.
Anthony Rudel does an absolutely masterful job in weaving the story of American radio with technical historical facts, characters that made the industry and perhaps a few tall tales. You begin to realize through the story how Radio really revolutionized the world and how it was the Internet of it's time. Truly a turning point in the history of the entire world (more so than television if you ask me).
This is a fantastic book and I couldn't recommend it enough for someone interested in history of communication and entertainment, or even a gift for a grandparent. I loved every second of reading this book.