{"product_id":"radios-america-bruce-lenthall-9780226471921","title":"Radio's America: The Great Depression and the Rise of Modern Mass Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003eOrson Welles's greatest breakthrough into the popular consciousness occurred in 1938, three years before \u003ci\u003eCitizen Kane\u003c\/i\u003e, when his \u003ci\u003eWar of the Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e radio broadcast succeeded so spectacularly that terrified listeners believed they were hearing a genuine report of an alien invasion--a landmark in the history of radio's powerful relationship with its audience. In \u003ci\u003eRadio's America\u003c\/i\u003e, Bruce Lenthall documents the enormous impact radio had on the lives of Depression-era Americans and charts the formative years of our modern mass culture. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMany Americans became alienated from their government and economy in the twentieth century, and Lenthall explains that radio's appeal came from its capability to personalize an increasingly impersonal public arena. His depictions of such figures as proto-Fascist Charles Coughlin and medical quack John Brinkley offer penetrating insight into radio's use as a persuasive tool, and Lenthall's book is unique in its exploration of how ordinary Americans made radio a part of their lives. Television inherited radio's cultural role, and as the voting tallies for \u003ci\u003eAmerican Idol\u003c\/i\u003e attest, broadcasting continues to occupy a powerfully intimate place in American life. \u003ci\u003eRadio's America\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how the connections between power and mass media began.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Bruce Lenthall\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0226471926\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226471921\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/01\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.83lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.95h x 6.34w x 0.62d","brand":"Bruce Lenthall","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44616335950079,"sku":"9780226471921","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f6c2b431-6b72-4355-8f39-d8b80579f865.jpg?v=1703019782","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/radios-america-bruce-lenthall-9780226471921","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}