The Speed of Sound - by Scott Eyman (Paperback)

About the Book

"The Speed of Sound is the epic story of the transition from silent films to talkies, a turbulent time in Hollywood history. Myth has it that it happened overnight, that Al Jolson said a few words in The Jazz Singer and the talkies were born, that stars with weak or inappropriate voices either killed themselves or went into seclusion, that the movie industry simply refitted itself and went on with business. The truth, however, is more involved--not to mention sinister, colorful, and entertaining. Certainly sound marked the end of moviemaking as its first creators had known it; their careers and those of many others who had been celebrated during Hollywood's silent era were over. But as Scott Eyman demonstrates in his fascinating account, it was also a time when the American film industry came fully into its own, and when the American film-going public truly succeumbed to Hollywood's bewitching spell"--Page 4 of cover.

Book Synopsis

From acclaimed author Scott Eyman comes the fascinating story of how the transition from silent films to 'talkies' transformed Hollywood.

It was the end of an era. It was a turbulent, colorful, and altogether remarkable period, four short years in which America's most popular industry reinvented itself.

Here is the epic story of the transition from silent films to talkies, that moment when movies were totally transformed and the American public cemented its love affair with Hollywood. As Scott Eyman demonstrates in his fascinating account of this exciting era, it was a time when fortunes, careers, and lives were made and lost, when the American film industry came fully into its own.

In this mixture of cultural and social history that is both scholarly and vastly entertaining, Eyman dispels the myths and gives us the missing chapter in the history of Hollywood, the ribbon of dreams by which America conquered the world.

Review Quotes

"An admirably clear and vivid journey through Hollywood's most turbulent era."--Kevin Brownlow, author of The Parade's Gone By...

"Eyman tells this story with wit and skill, detailing a surprisingly overlooked but crucial period in Hollywood history."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"One of the best books I've ever read on any facet of American film history."--James Curtis, author of Spencer Tracy: A Biography

"The transition from silent film to sound has been covered in many histories of Hollywood but nowhere so thoroughly and delightfully as here."-- "Library Journal"

About the Author

Scott Eyman is the author or coauthor of eighteen books, including the bestseller John Wayne and Pieces of My Heart and You Must Remember This with actor Robert Wagner. Eyman, formerly the literary critic at The Palm Beach Post, also writes book reviews for The Wall Street Journal, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune. He and his wife, Lynn, live in West Palm Beach.