Media and the American Mind: From Morse to McLuhan Review

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(More customer reviews)Although Czitron tackles an ambitious subject, mapping the history of the media, he succeeds where so many others have failed.
Czitron traces the media not as separate and discrete events, but as arenas wherein we as a society have sought to confront some of the more fundamental issues of our time. To me, the value of the book lies precisely in this uncovering of social themes. Unlike other media history books, which show how one medium influenced another's development (e.g., the telegraph sparked the radio) and then move on, Czitron shows us that most of the issues that arose early on are still very much with us (e.g., social regulation).
As a college professor, I frequently refer back to Czitron whenever I bring media discussions into my classes. My copy is dog-earred from several reads. And each time I read it, I capture some new nuance that I overlooked before. But, even though I say I am a professor, I can honestly admit that the book is easily accessible to students of mass communication at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
For those outside academia, this may or may not be the book for you, depending largely on your interest in issues of power and/or social thought. If, for example, you have read any of the Chicago School theorists like John Dewey or Walter Lippmann or are into any of the contemporary cultural theorists, you will like this book. If you are looking, on the other hand, for quick and dirty armchair reading, try something else. Also, if you are looking for someone who provides "THE one-and-only history of the mass media," this book is not for you.
In sum, Czitrom manages to provide several new vistas into contemporary media, challenging some conventions and engaging actively all who are willing to engage him. This isn't to say that you will always agree with him. But he makes his case and yet manages to leave room for ongoing discussion...just what any good author is supposed to do.

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In a fascinating and comprehensive intellectual history of modern communication in America, Daniel Czitrom examines the continuing contradictions between the progressive possibilities that new communications technologies offer and their use as instruments of domination and exploitation.

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