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Summary: Review of Second Edition "We Interrupt This Broadcast"
Review: "We interrupt this broadcast..." When those words are spoken over the radio or through the TV, one stops, turns, and is fixated...listening for the next words. "We Interrupt This Broadcast brings to life the famous and infamous moments of the twentieth century that were announced with those four chilling words," writes Joe Garner, author. The book contains 41 odd and interesting events from the twentieth century such as the landing of Apollo 11, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the crumbling of the Berlin Wall. However, this book is different from a history lesson because it comes with two CD's. The CD's contain a condensed book narration of each story and a recording of the story's actual broadcast. It's a history lesson, but a lot better than listening to a monotonous teacher. Some of the stories are better than others. This is either because they are not of interest to some age groups (the firing of General MacArthur and Johnson's defeat of Dewey in the Presidential race are not interesting to younger readers) or they give too much information and therefore one starts skipping over words. Overall, Garner does a good job of portraying the events with the help of excellent photography. His writing flows nicely and paints a portrait of each events basics. A large portion of each story is devoted to outstanding photographs. There are a few photography mistakes that have been pointed out by readers. For example, a picture labeled Apollo 11 is not actually Apollo 11. However, the mislabeling in this book is not a big deal because they are things that most readers wouldn't notice. The book would be better if the audio narrations were shorter and the time devoted to the news clips was longer. The clips are very short and those are the highlight of the book. The narrations are spoken by Bill Kurtis and are great because they allow the reader to concentrate on the photographs while hearing about the entire event. Part of the success the narrations have is because of Kurtis' voice. Due to his extensive journalism work (A&E Network documentaries and CBS) he's learned to make his voice captivating. We Interrupt This Broadcast was a bestseller in the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and the New York Times. The book is well worth the fifty bucks because of the outstanding quality Garner, Walter Cronkite, and Kurtis put together. For sports fans, Garner also has two other similar books out, And the Crowd Goes Wild and And the Fans Roared. Overall, I think this was an excellent book. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Bill Kurtis interrupts this broadcast...
Review: As an avid fan of both history and news, I was excited to see this book come to the shelf. One would expect the audio to be the key feature to this book, and indeed it should have been. Sadly, the news portions of the audio are kept to ineffective soundbites that average about 15 seconds each. Instead of having the sensation of listening to the radio when a news break comes through, you are lulled to sleep by Bill Kurtis' summation of the event. Only a small cut from a radio broadcast accents the audio. In fact, most of the news clips are not even the "breaking news," but rather some portion of a later news report. Another problem is the omission of key news events for the inclusion of cultural events (death of Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe). Finally, many of the clips begin with the news reporter speaking, not with the broadcast as it occured prior to the break-in. Thus, the "interruption of the broadcast" is never re-lived. Other reviews which claim the edited audio "revive[s] the panic and thrill of some of the defining moments" of these events, are greatly mistaken. If you are looking for a 'best of' listing of news stories (PBS style, edited to 60 minutes t.v. program), this will be a good edition to your library. The program does do a good job of summarizing major 20th century news stories. However, if you are looking for a unique historical record of major radio news events, this will leave you disappointed and frustrated with the missed potential of this series.
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Summary: Please Keep True to the Title
Review: I have a previous edition of this book. It covered the Diana death, and I believe that is where it stopped. My complaint with the book is only that, as the topics progresses closer to current times, the interruptions became less "spontaneous."
The book's premise was to provide the first live broadcast interruption that the public heard, to create the same chills that people felt, to relive the first realization of the shocking event just as it happened. By the time the book got to Dianna's death, the news clips became more general, more like an end of the year re-cap of what had happened, instead of the first terror-filled report that something had gone wrong.
But a great book, other than that! Perhaps the problem has been fixed in this newer edition.
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Summary: Great for teachers and students young and old.
Review: Joe Garner has assembled an excellent historical resource with this book and accompanying 2 CD set featuring the actual broadcasts of historical events. Beginning with the first major disaster covered by broadcast journalism, the explosion of the Hindenburg, to the death of Princess Diana, and other events in between (assassination of JFK, Desert Storm, etc), this book and CD set can be used in the classroom as well as provide hours of enjoyment for young and old alike.
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Summary: This book is a must for everyone.
Review: Naturally, I was not alive or much too young when events happened during the first half of the century, and unfortunately, I never had an outstanding professor of history either in high school or in college. I, personally, did not care for any of the events pertaining to space because I do not feel that we belong in space. It seemed as though I were living through the bombing of Pearl Harbor because I could remember my mother telling me how she was feeling so sorry for herself because no family member had remembered her birthday, and then, she heard on the radio that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. Suddenly, all thoughts of a forgotten birthday disappeared, and she thought how lucky she was to be alive. It seem so real for the first time. The assassination of the two Kennedy brothers and of Martin Luther King. I, as I am sure, many others were watching television when Lee Harvey Oswald and Robert Kennedy were shot. Everything seemed as though it were just happening. Who can forget the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the insincere remarks made by Queen Elizabeth II!! In the forward Walter Cronkite states, "When the events that change the world occur, we journalists must step up with all the instant thoughtfulness and knowledge we can muster in the face of triumph or tragedy." - page ix. I highly recommend this book. I purchased mine and read it for the first time just after Thanksgiving. I was so impressed by this book that I purchased three additional books for Christmas gifts.
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Summary: Good Concept, Poor Realization
Review: The book itself contains the expected photos from the events. The accompanying text seemed appropriate for someone with little or no knowledge of 20th century history. While this is not necessarily a fault, it reduces the value of the book to those of us familiar with at least the broad outlines and major events. But the CDs are seriously annoying. Since these accompany a book, I expected that the book would provide the context (date/time/source of the broadcast, and perhaps some historical background) and the CDs themselves would contain minimal narration. Instead, I'd estimate there's five minutes of narration-blather for every minute of historical recording. And blather it is-- often irritatingly banal, platitudinous, and cliched. Did I mention that the narrator sometimes actually talks OVER the historical recordings? This book/recording package could have been so much better.
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Summary: Please Keep True to the Title
Review: The narrator explains what is written in the book already. The book would be a lot better if there was no narrator.
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Summary: A great book filled with historical events of the century
Review: This is a great concept with a so-so follow-through. The book has some fine photos and lackluster text. The real disappointment is the CD's, which unfortunately feature the exposition of Bill Kurtis over the actual recordings. Instead of minutes of actual news broadcasts knitted together with seconds of exposition by Bill Kurtis, we get lengthy introductions by Kurtis with snippets of the news broadcasts. Bottom line: Worth having, but falls short of potential.
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Summary: A must have conversation piece!
Review: This is one of the best literary ideas I have ever seen! I was fortunate enough to receive this book for my birthday and have since perused it's pages (and listened to the CDs, of course) a dozen times. The whole book gives you a *you are there* feeling, and the audio just enhances that. Does an excellent job covering so many of the century's biggest moments. The sound of Walter Cronkite's voice announcing JFK's death, the Hindenburg disaster, Princess Diana...amazing! The pictures are great too...an all around wonderful coffee table book to have laying around. If you are at all interested in history, current events, or any major event that occurred in the 20th century, buy this...you won't be disappointed!
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Summary: Skims the heights of 20th century events
Review: This volume is fun to read, but don't look for any groundbreaking analysis or new information. The author does a good job of retelling events surrounding the century's big news events...from the Hindenburg disaster to Lee Harvey Oswald, with all the requisite wars and disasters thrown in. It can be fascinating to listen to on CD, and the text offers good support. At the same time, there is little discussion of how the medium of radio grew throughout the century, or how live media reporting has now changed the way Americans receive information. Read this book for what it is: a fun history lesson, and a nostalgic look back to simpler times in the media.
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