Television: The Life Story of a Technology

by Alexander B. Magoun

Overview

For better or worse, television has been the dominant medium of communication for fifty years. Yet it is a relatively recent invention, one that required passionate inventors, determined businessmen, government regulators, and willing consumers. This volume covers the history of television from nineteenth-century European conceptions of transmitting moving images electrically to the death of television as a discrete system in a digital age.

Alexander B. Magoun highlights key events in the evolution of TV, as well as the dynamic individuals who ignited the industry, such as Vladimir Zworykin and David Sarnoff. He also covers the development of cable and satellite television, the use of television in wartime, and the "tube's" changing face.

Based on the latest research, this crisply written, sometimes provocative survey includes a glossary, timeline, and bibliography for further reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801890727
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	06/01/2009
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Alexander B. Magoun is executive director of the David Sarnoff Library.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Timeline
1. Conception, 1873–1911
2. Birth of a Technology; or Invention, 1912–1928
3. Parenthood: Television's Innovation, 1928–1941
4. Working for a Living: Television's Commercialization, 1941–1966
5. Children of the Revolution, 1947–1987
6. The Digital Generation and the End of Television
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

In this history of television, Magoun not only explains the development and basic workings of this technology but also the processes, personalities, and business decisions involved, and TV's impact on American values. In a 'life cycle' framework, he traces TV from its protracted birth through the death of cathode tube TVs and resurrection in digital form. The author addresses issues relating to the paternity of inventions, government regulation, and changing broadcast standards.

Scitech Book News

A handful of black-and-white photographs, a bibliography, and an index enhance this highly readable account, sure to fascinate lay readers and scholars alike.

Midwest Book Review

Tracing the history of television from early inception through golden age, to the current world of flat screens, cable, and satellites, Magoun comprehensively overviews a medium now in everyone's memory . . . Readers are left with an appreciation for an old friend that they enjoyed having around, as well as recognition of the role that television has played in making entertainment and communication what it is today.

Choice

Offers anyone with an interest in the story behind television's history an interesting and highly readable view of many of the people, corporate entities, and government agencies crucial to its invention and its subsequent technological development.

Journalism History - Patricia L. Dooley

Offers anyone with an interest in the story behind television's history an interesting and highly readable view of many of the people, corporate entities, and government agencies crucial to its invention and its subsequent technological development.

— Patricia L. Dooley

Journalism History

Adult/ High School -The idea of a "technography," or a biography of a technology, is intriguing, and this thorough exposition supports the viability of the concept. Magoun discusses both the personalities and the technology that came together to create television. The explications of the science may be slightly confusing to those not scientifically inclined, but the human story of the patent battle between inventor Philo Farnsworth (erroneously named "Phil" in one heading) and television executive David Sarnoff is a tad more interesting. Magoun traces television's origins and development through the advent of the VCR to today's flat-panel displays and the future of the medium. Sadly, despite an extensive and impressive bibliography, there are no source notes to connect specific text with the research. Despite this serious flaw, the book is comprehensive and informative. However, the amount of detail, scholarly tone, and lackluster design of the volume are likely to limit its appeal to those already interested in the topic.-Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ

Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Tracing the history of television from early inception through golden age, to the current world of flat screens, cable, and satellites, Magoun comprehensively overviews a medium now in everyone's memory. He readily admits that he neither watches television nor possesses any technical training in chemistry or physics, but these have not hampered his research skills. Magoun provides an interesting historical survey of major inventors, companies, and influences in the life story of a technology known as television. He writes from the perspective of a witness to the conception and birth of television. He continues to document its life from the role of a parent who ultimately must witness the eventual breaking away of the child so that it could forge ahead to build the revolutionary digital world, and he follows its eventual death as medium of choice for most people. Along the way, Magoun reveals how society has also evolved with each change in technology. Readers are left with an appreciation for an old friend that they enjoyed having around, as well as recognition of the role that television has played in making entertainment and communication what it is today. Highly recommended. General readers; lower- and upper-division undergraduates.” —Choice

“The idea of a technography, or a biography of a technology, is intriguing, and this thorough exposition supports the viability of the concept. Magoun discusses both the personalities and the technology that came together to create television….Magoun traces television's origins and development through the advent of the VCR to today's flat-panel displays and the future of the medium.” —School Library Jourbanal

“In this history of television, Magoun not only explains the development and basic workings of this technology, but also the processes, personalities, and business decisions involved, and TV's impact on American values. In a life cycle framework, he traces TV from its protracted birth through the death of cathode tube TVs and resurrection in digital form. The author addresses issues relating to the paternity of inventions, government regulation, and changing broadcast standards. The book includes B&W illustrations.” —SciTech Book News

“[A]n appealing read for students who should be encouraged to exercise their critical thinking skills to debate whether their digital generation spells the end of television and what they might predict in the immediate future to replace the gadgets that seem to be replacing it now.” —GALE Reference for Students/Lawrence Looks at Books

From the Publisher