Magnetic Recording: The First 100 Years

Rating:
Summary: Worth the cost
Review: While surely not inexpensive for a paperback book, this is an important study---perhaps the best single volume relating the history of magnetic sound, video, and data recording methods over a century. Written by a number of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) authorities, the 20 chapters provide clearly-written and well-illustrated (nearly 100 photos and a host of diagrams) accounts of the rise of various modes of recording. One need not be an engineer (I'm not!) to understand the discussions here.

Of special value is the pulling together of material on all of these methods in one place, allowing ready comparison of who did what and when. We learn about inventors, marketing, hardware, and the means of recording, allowing a clearer understanding of how later developments built upon earlier ones. Some of the principles of modern videocams, for example, have been known for decades.

Each chapter includes references to contemporary studies and more recent research, allowing the reader to pursue topics at greater length. In all, this is a valuable anthology of original research that sheds considerable light on a fascinating story.