Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio
Tom Lewis, David Ossman, Otherworld Media
Audio Cassette
(Lonestone Catalog, Feb. 23, 1996)
The absorbing, astounding, true story of the invention of radio broadcasting in the early 20th Century, and a long-overdue tribute to the lman who actually devised practical AM receivers and the entire FM System: Edwin Howard Armstrong. His genius gave us all a wonderful new world, but his patents were stolen by corporate greed. The story centers around three figures central to the period: Armstrong, Lee DeForest (who claimed to have invented a lot of things), and David Sarnoff (who founded R.C.A.). Tom Lewis' bestselling book became Ken Burns' wonderful video, but David (Firesign Theatre) Ossman's audio adaptation is the best telling of the story of any version! Steve Allen, David Ogden Stiers, Edward Asner, Bonnie Bedelia, John Astin, Gary Owens, and a magnificent cast of 90!