The Great Radio Heroes, rev. ed. - 2nd Edition by Jim Harmon (Paperback)

About the Book

In 1967, Jim Harmon published the first edition of The Great Radio Heroes to great acclaim. Thirty-three years later comes an illustrated, corrected, revised and greatly expanded new edition...
Once there was a time--and it was not so long ago--when radio listening, especially to the dramas, was one of the most important events in many a young person's life. People developed a love affair with the radio, and though the old times are now gone forever, the love affair continues. The heroes and settings of radio drama spurred the imagination to supply its own and much better images than visual media provided. There were no padded shoulders on the Lone Ranger, Superman flew with no jiggly trick photography, and the Martians whom Orson Welles helped attack the Earth were more convincing than anything the movies can provide.
For those who have been under the thrall of radio's alluring call, your new host Jim Harmon provides reminiscences of the heyday of radio programming, with insights on such radio dramas as I Love a Mystery, Gangbusters, The Shadow, Inner Sanctum, Batman and Robin, Superman, Tom Mix, The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, Adventures by Morse and a couple of dozen more. Photographs, a bibliography, and an index are included to enhance the reader's journey into a past time when radio was the favorite pastime.

Book Synopsis

In 1967, Jim Harmon published the first edition of The Great Radio Heroes to great acclaim. Thirty-three years later comes an illustrated, corrected, revised and greatly expanded new edition...

Once there was a time--and it was not so long ago--when radio listening, especially to the dramas, was one of the most important events in many a young person's life. People developed a love affair with the radio, and though the old times are now gone forever, the love affair continues. The heroes and settings of radio drama spurred the imagination to supply its own and much better images than visual media provided. There were no padded shoulders on the Lone Ranger, Superman flew with no jiggly trick photography, and the Martians whom Orson Welles helped attack the Earth were more convincing than anything the movies can provide.

For those who have been under the thrall of radio's alluring call, your new host Jim Harmon provides reminiscences of the heyday of radio programming, with insights on such radio dramas as I Love a Mystery, Gangbusters, The Shadow, Inner Sanctum, Batman and Robin, Superman, Tom Mix, The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, Adventures by Morse and a couple of dozen more. Photographs, a bibliography, and an index are included to enhance the reader's journey into a past time when radio was the favorite pastime.

Review Quotes

"good one-stop resource"-Library Journal; "wonderfully readable"-Communication Booknotes Quarterly; "lovingly logs the golden age of radio"-Publisher's Weekly; "magnificent"-Buffalo Courier Express; "beautiful-just beautiful"-Arizona Republic; "many fond memories as well as new information"-North American Radio Archives; "a pioneering volume on the subject"-Classic Images; "I can recommend a most pleasurable evening or two...reading [this book]"-Minneapolis Star; "Harmon actually has a hot-seller... Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear-Newsday; "Harmon recalls premiums described in such golden prose that it made our mouths water for the secret decoder badge, the Tom Mix ring"-Shreveport (LA) Times.

About the Author

Writer and radio producer Jim Harmon of Burbank, California, wrote, produced, and appeared in a revival of "Tom Mix" in the early 1980s. He is also the author of Radio Mystery and Adventure and Its Appearances in Film, Television and Other Media (1992).