Okay, well if you have read Susan J. Douglas' book "Tuning in" or "Inventing American B'casting." Or Hines' "Radio Voices" or Smulyans' "Selling Radio" -- you'll know exactly where this book comes from (this book is like an extension of these books - only up to modern day). I am very pleased that we are seeing more published books on radio in the academy, however, the majority of these are coming from the cultural studies perspective -- I guess because any quantitative study is thought to be largely the purveyance of the industry. So, it's a qualitative romp through the garden of radio past and the impact the medium has had on the American Psyche that perhaps we have overlooked due to our (new?) obsession with television. It's a step above the general "I recall when radio was great..." books due to the caliber of essayists in the thing. WHile it's not extremely original, the writing is superb and offers some more insights into the medium of radio. It benefits too from the fact that these essays are not overly written about (and published) in the academy. So, in other words, there is certainly more than enough room for it in the literature.

Radio Voices is a decent look at radio from the early 1900s to 1952, although Hilmes mostly skirts any discussion of radio's decline after 1945.
She amply discusses the effects of early programs such as Amos 'n Andy which were based on minstrel shows. This discussion and the racial reasons behind them is quite interesting.
However, I think the book at many points turns from an interesting discussion into a polemic, and loses its way. She discusses the "ghettoization" of women programs to the daytime schedule. I think this really disrespects women listeners of the 1920s and 30s. Yes, many of them were at home and not out working like many men, but Hilmes discusses this topic in a tone that makes it sound like the daytime schedule was "second rate" when in fact it's the women who make the purchasing choices for most households, not the men who'd be listening more at night. The audience may have been smaller during the day than at night, but it doesn't mean it's less important and certainly shouldn't be referred to as "ghettoization".
Also she discusses in condesending tones the use of radio by the government and other interests to promote America's intervention in World War II. Like many post-Vietnam academics, it's obvious she likely falsely believes we should have stayed out of that war. It's really a shame she strays into a polemic on some of these topics. Otherwise, it would have been a great book.

"Radio Voices" offers an overview of the radio's impact on America. Hilmes describes the way this media interacted, effected, and was influenced by phenomenon such as urbanization, immigration, the rise consumer culture, racial tension, the notion of gender roles, WWI, and WWII. I particularly enjoyed her dealings with gender and race. Hilmes reveals the invention and propagation of racial tension as she discusses the portrayal of blacks as an uneducated group participating in society secondarily to white listeners, and most often in positions of servitude. Hilmes' treatment of women in the text reveals their suseptibility to consumerism and their exclusion from nighttime/masuline radio air time. She describes the waxing and waning acceptance of women into positions of power in the radio industry as well as the evolution of gender roles as a result of female shows such as the first soap operas (serials). The end of the text addresses the radio propaganda surrounding WWII, including the encouragement of black soldier participation and women in the workforce. Overall, I feel the text broadenend my knowledge of the radio's influence on American culture, not only between 1922-1952, but in modern society. The radio served as a means to American unification, and traces of this cultural foundation still remain profoundly engraved in the notion of what it means to be an American. After reading this text I feel I can examine, more objectively, the media I absorb today.

An outstanding, if slightly academic, homage to the glory days of live radio. Hilmes is both a fan of the medium and a critic of its development, paying special attention to radio's role in shaping American national identity. The presentation of women and various ethnic groups is one of her main concerns, but Hilmes isn't a mere PC grind; she also explores the nuances of supposed stereotypes, analyzing the degree to which these characterizations both shaped and reflected the world around them. It's fascinating to read an account of a seemingly "dead" medium... She does a great job capturing the flavor of the times, even though most of us will never be able to hear the shows she mentions. Hilmes draws upon several major media libraries, as well as extensive governmental and academic archives, mixing bureaucratic, sociological and pop cultural perspectives. Of particular interest to readers in the present day, where multinational conglomerates duke it out over the vanishing frontier of post-dotcom economy, and the FCC and Congress have sharply curtailed freedom of expression (under the guise of protecting intellectual property), is the older, earlier story of how the US government and the budding broadcast industry squelched the amatuer broadcasters of the 'teens and '20s. In some ways it's a side note to Himes' wider social concerns, but it couldn't be more timely. Recommended reading!