How did one of the great inventions of the nineteenth century—Thomas Edison's phonograph—eventually lead to one of the most culturally and economically significant technologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries? Sound Recording traces the history of the business boom and the cultural revolution that Edison's invention made possible. Recorded sound has pervaded nearly every facet of modern life—not just popular music, but also mundane office dictation machines, radio and television programs, and even telephone answering machines. Just as styles of music have evolved, so too have the formats through which sound has been captured—from 78s to LPs, LPs to cassette tapes, tapes to CDs, and on to electronic formats. The quest for better sound has certainly driven technological change, but according to David L. Morton, so have business strategies, patent battles, and a host of other factors.

Based on the author's dissertation (doctoral)--Columbia University, 2013.

Kids Learn! is a parent-involvement resource designed to bridge the away-from-school gap in instruction with standards-based activities in reading, writing, and mathematics. The resource also: models how parents and caregivers can be more involved with their child's learning during vacations and other breaks from school reinforces information learned during the just-ended school year, while preparing students for the upcoming grade leveloffers suggestions for quick and fun family activities that will provide a rich knowledge base for students to draw upon in the coming school year

Chemistry, electricity and magnetism, physics (gravity, displacement, levers, pendulums, Newton's laws, fluid motion, and relativity), and engineering and technology (specifically, lenses, phonographs, animation, the telegraph, rocketry, bouncing balls, and skyscrapers) are found among this book's 27 activity topics. 152 pages.

Music is a foundational language of being human. The singing voice can speak and depict the human condition with great expressiveness, and plays a hugely important role in music. However, scant attention has been paid to vocal reproduction in hi fidelity reproduction of music. Despite his huge profile as an opera singer, now, many years after his passing, Beniamino Gigli has been overlooked by many. These two themes intersect as no artist no longer living can be better recognised than being brought back to life by playing their music. Yet, with a singing voice as remarkable as Gigli’s, no ordinary attempt at audio reproduction will do it justice. Not only does this book explore and explain what is involved in the hi fidelity reproduction of the voice, it also discusses why Gigli’s singing is special and is still relevant in our musical era. His music highlights in stark relief changes that have happened in the recording and playback of music. In addition, while changes to listening practices have been well-studied, the implications for the experience of music have not. As Ernest Hemmingway said, most people never listen. Listening is an art, choice and gift. Through Gigli, this book also provides insights into the value of thoughtful listening. Listening begins and ends with, and is inseparable from, patience. When we make the time, music can gives us a glimpse of something beyond the horizons of materialism or our contemporary values.

A history of audiobooks, from entertainment & rehabilitation for blinded World War I soldiers to a twenty-first-century competitive industry. Histories of the book often move straight from the codex to the digital screen. Left out of that familiar account are nearly 150 years of audio recordings. Recounting the fascinating history of audio-recorded literature, Matthew Rubery traces the path of innovation from Edison’s recitation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” for his tinfoil phonograph in 1877, to the first novel-length talking books made for blinded World War I veterans, to today’s billion-dollar audiobook industry. The Untold Story of the Talking Book focuses on the social impact of audiobooks, not just the technological history, in telling a story of surprising and impassioned conflicts: from controversies over which books the Library of Congress selected to become talking books—yes to Kipling, no to Flaubert—to debates about what defines a reader. Delving into the vexed relationship between spoken and printed texts, Rubery argues that storytelling can be just as engaging with the ears as with the eyes, and that audiobooks deserve to be taken seriously. They are not mere derivatives of printed books but their own form of entertainment. We have come a long way from the era of sound recorded on wax cylinders, when people imagined one day hearing entire novels on mini-phonographs tucked inside their hats. Rubery tells the untold story of this incredible evolution and, in doing so, breaks from convention by treating audiobooks as a distinctively modern art form that has profoundly influenced the way we read. Praise for The Untold Story of the Talking Book “If audiobooks are relatively new to your world, you might wonder where they came from and where they’re going. And for general fans of the intersection of culture and technology, The Untold Story of the Talking Book is a fascinating read.” —Neil Steinberg, Chicago Sun-Times “[Rubery] explores 150 years of the audio format with an imminently accessible style, touching upon a wide range of interconnected topics . . . Through careful investigation of the co-development of formats within the publishing industry, Rubery shines a light on overlooked pioneers of audio . . . Rubery’s work succeeds in providing evidence to ‘move beyond the reductive debate’ on whether audiobooks really count as reading, and establishes the format’s rightful place in the literary family.” —Mary Burkey, Booklist (starred review)