Raised on Radio [Paperback]

This is neither a formal history of American radio's "Golden Age" (c.1928-1950), nor is it a book likely to please every "Old Time Radio" fanatic who wants elaborately detailed accounts of his favorite programs and performers. Gerald Nachman came of age in the waning days of bigtime network radio; he fondly remembers the medium; and he tries to convey some of his warm regard (dare one call it "nostalgia?") for the people and broadcasts that have most impressed him. For those who were not "raised on radio" (or, more likely, grew up in the later decades of disc jockeys and "talk"), the book provides an introduction to the basics of Old Time Radio.

Nachman affectionately hits the high points with chapters on Jack Benny, Fred Allen, and Bob Hope, a paean to the ultimate radio soap opera, "One Man's Family," and insightful analyses of such cultural icons as Walter Winchell, the Quiz Kids, Burns and Allen, Arthur Godfrey, and others who made a medium that (along with the movies) dominated American popular culture in the 1930s and 1940s. His assessment of the "Amos 'n' Andy" controversy - should African-Americans be offended or flattered by two well-meaning white comedians in aural blackface? - is on the mark. On the other hand, Nachman doesn't put enough emphasis on Orson Welle's 1938 "War of the Worlds" broadcast, which demonstrated the power of radio to scare the hell out of casual listeners; but there are numerous other books on that phenomenon. One also can quibble that there's not a chapter about commercial radio's efforts to popularize "high culture" - e.g., Arturo Toscanini, Sigmund Spaeth, the Metropolitan Opera - although Nachman does mention them in passing. Most of the chapters are devoted to specific entertainment genres - soap operas, kids' shows, dramatic series and serials, quiz programs, musical/variety shows, westerns, etc. - and cover major performers and programs in each.

As one might expect, Nachman bemoans the demise of "live" network radio in the 1950s and 1960s, as Americans turned from prime-time listening to prime-time viewing. If the book has a major failing, it's a lack of information about and understanding of American radio audiences and why they largely abandoned network radio for television. A chapter on audiences and the radio ratings systems might have been appropriate - but, again, this is not a history so much as an "appreciation."

Nachman cites several interviews and includes a long list of books he apparently consulted for his own work; but since there are no footnotes, it's difficult for a non-specialist to judge if there are as many factual errors here as other reviewers claim. (By the way, Adlai Stevenson WAS a presidential contender in 1960, at least until John F. Kennedy locked up the Democratic nomination; but there was no primary "election night" prior to Winchell's departure from network radio that year, so he couldn't have made his on-air comment comparing Stevenson with Christine Jorgenson quite as Nachman relates it.)

Still, Nachman writes in a lively, easy-flowing style; his chapters are well-organized and self-contained, short enough for casual reading. All in all, "Raised on Radio" is a good introduction for younger readers (born after 1960, shall we say) to the basics of Old Time Radio, a good place to get one's bearings before tackling more specialized books and, of course, listening to the programs themselves.

But I do have to register one strong objection. It's his assesment of Eddie Cantor. Now, Cantor may indeed have been a lousy rat in his personal life, as Nachman's informants report --that I don't know about -- but the book is one hundred per cent wrong about Cantor's show (at least his show from the mid-forties on). Nachman dismisses Cantor as an essentially talentless hack, and his show as depressingly unfunny. A few years ago, back when I first read this book, I accepted Nachman's criticism as probably factual (though I did remember enjoying Cantor's movies on the late, late show many years ago). The fact is that at the time I had never heard any of Cantor's radio shows so I had nothing to compare his comments with. Then about a year ago I ran across a partial episode of one Cantor's shows. It was hilarious and made me hungry for more. A few months ago I was able to obtain six or seven dozen shows dating from WW II and later. Now, it's possible that Nachman was going by Cantor's shows from the thirtes, when radio was much different than the situation comedy oriented 1940s. Whatever the case all I can say is that going by the fifty or so shows I've heard so far, Nachman is wrong, wrong, wrong. Cantor's show is hilarious and every bit as good as Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, Phil Harris, or any other top shows of the period. The writing is first rate. Second bananas Harry von Zell and Bert Gordon as the Mad Russian are standouts, and as good as any supporting players on the other shows. Better, really. Cantor's show has quickly become one of my very favorites. My 11 year old son loves it. Even my 15 year old daughter -- the one with the metal stud in her nose -- loves the show.

So read Nachman. He's good. More important, listen to the shows yourself.