Media and the American Mind: From Morse to McLuhan

by Daniel Czitrom

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807841072
• ISBN13: 9780807841075
• Release Date: January 1983
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Nice Surprise

While from the perspective of 2007 one might think of a host of media to include in the historical development of media, the media selecte--the telegraph, motion picture (nidkelodeon), and radio) are just the front end for the real meat of the book in its intellectual history in the second half of the book. This intellectual story is excellent in its alternative line of intellectual development from the John Dewey roots to the 1970s, instead of teh Marxist interpretations that seem so dominant in the social and intellecutal histories written/read today.

Not just another history book...

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.