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Hello, Everybody!: The Dawn of American Radio
Long before the internet, another young technology was transformed--with help from a colorful collection of eccentrics and visionaries--into a mass medium with the power to connect millions of people. When amateur enthusiasts began sending fuzzy signals from their garages and rooftops, radio broadcasting was born. Sensing the medium's potential, snake-oil salesmen and preachers took to the air, at once setting early standards for radio programming and making bedlam of the airwaves. Into the chaos stepped a young secretary of commerce, Herbert Hoover, whose passion for organization guided the technology's growth. When a charismatic bandleader named Rudy Vallee created the first on-air variety show and America elected its first true radio president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, radio had arrived. With clarity, humor, and an eye for outsized characters forgotten by polite history, Anthony Rudel tells the story of the boisterous years when radio took its place in the nation's living room and forever changed American politics, journalism, and entertainment.
399 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
162 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 17, 2020
The author hits my sweet spot, finding a nexus between personalities, technology, business, and the culture which launches them and then is impacted by the new combination.
August 27, 2019
Highly enjoyable and fact filled book about the early days of radio. Not a lot on individual radio shows but so much more on the development of the medium. I was struck by the similarities between the telegraph, radio and now the internet. Everyone was calling them the death knells for newspapers. Fascinating book about how this device evolved from a small amateur hobby to being a huge source of music, information and news. Stories on Lindbergh flight, the Lindbergh kidnapping, Herbert Hoover who actually guided the development of radio as Secretary of Commerce, political campaigns, boxing, baseball, Rudy Vallee, Amos and Andy, and a whole lot more.
If you grew up listening to radio or are a fan of the development of of this and other mediums then you are in for a great read!
If you grew up listening to radio or are a fan of the development of of this and other mediums then you are in for a great read!
April 25, 2020
Fascinating book about early radio. Starting as hobby for young enthusiasts, Radio progressed to big business. Its popularity is not unlike the start of the internet.
The writer concentrates mostly on the 1920s. During this time radio was a very deregulated industry. Herbert Hoover tried and was somewhat successful in bringing some order to this chaos.
What I enjoyed most about this book was the author’s stories of the various personalities at this time. The quack doctor John Brinkley. The sceptic rantings of father John Coughlin.
The writer concentrates mostly on the 1920s. During this time radio was a very deregulated industry. Herbert Hoover tried and was somewhat successful in bringing some order to this chaos.
What I enjoyed most about this book was the author’s stories of the various personalities at this time. The quack doctor John Brinkley. The sceptic rantings of father John Coughlin.
November 14, 2024
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a host of technologies released that utterly transformed society, and few as dramatic as radio. Hello, Everybody! is an engaging history of the early decades of radio, filled with some dramatic, unbelievable characters. Anthony Rudel baits the hook early, with the bizarre rise of one John Brinkley — a quack who used his folksy charm and private radio transmitter to build an empire from goat testicles and patent medicines, a man who was so popular he ran for governor twice on write-ins and very nearly won — before examining how radio shaped sports, politics, religion, and news. It’s a solid piece of popular history, the kind that is not only genuinely informative but entertaining enough that the reader is likely to annoy friends for weeks afterward sharing especially juicy facts. Hey, did I tell you about the lady radiovangelist who faked her own death (and abduction by bandits) so she could have some smoochy time with a married man?
We begin with the development of radio from wireless telegraphy before quickly getting into the fun stuff. Readers who experienced the early computer age in the seventies and eighties may find themselves with a minor case of deja vu as we learn about radio taking off as a hobby for geeks and enthusiasists, building transmitters and receivers at home and broadcasting signals into the ether. Some, like a diploma-mill physician in Kansas, had the idea of getting some practical use out of their hobbies. “Dr.” John Brinkley enjoyed offering radio programming to his area, and then realized he could become the prototypical “teledoc”, reading letters on air and offering prescriptions — which always involved buying his patent medicines by mail. Early programming was all over the place, reminiscent of 1990s websites: one station might feature a man reading the headlines from the newspaper, and another had the idea of offering college-level lectures on air for those who wanted to improve their education. Herbert Hoover cuts a prominent figure in the book’s first half, as he was responsible for trying to create order out of the primordial chaos: places like New York, where there were many transmitters competing with one another, were especially messy. As things became a bit more orderly and the industry grew, politicians and religious figures found radio a powerful tool for sending for their message: one Catholic priest, disturbed by the paltry number of parishioners at his little church, had the idea of broadcasting the service and would grow to be a media giant, known as Father Coughlin, whose talks could reach an entire fifth of the American populace. The book has a lot of surprises: “Silent Cal” Coolidge was quite comfortable with using the radio, for instance, and some early sports authorities were positively resistant toward the new medium, believing that broadcasting matches would undermine ticket sales. The book ends with the rise of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who used radio masterfully to win and maintain the trust of the American people during the great depression.
I’ve been meaning to read this for a few years now, and chanced to see it available on Kindle Unlimited. It proved a thoroughly fun dive into the early 20th century, and stuck me as very similar to the internet revolution that I personally lived through: this look into the dawn of the mass communication age is also the dawn of our own information page. Definitely worth taking a look at!
Related:
The Network: The Battle for the Airwaves. This is more of a technical & government-policy history of radio broadcasting. Quite readable and useful, but not focused on culture the way Hello Everybody! is
The Victorian Internet, Tom Standage. On radio’s papa, telegraphy..
Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World, Jill Jones. Again a history of patent wars and technical innovation, less attention on changing society.
We begin with the development of radio from wireless telegraphy before quickly getting into the fun stuff. Readers who experienced the early computer age in the seventies and eighties may find themselves with a minor case of deja vu as we learn about radio taking off as a hobby for geeks and enthusiasists, building transmitters and receivers at home and broadcasting signals into the ether. Some, like a diploma-mill physician in Kansas, had the idea of getting some practical use out of their hobbies. “Dr.” John Brinkley enjoyed offering radio programming to his area, and then realized he could become the prototypical “teledoc”, reading letters on air and offering prescriptions — which always involved buying his patent medicines by mail. Early programming was all over the place, reminiscent of 1990s websites: one station might feature a man reading the headlines from the newspaper, and another had the idea of offering college-level lectures on air for those who wanted to improve their education. Herbert Hoover cuts a prominent figure in the book’s first half, as he was responsible for trying to create order out of the primordial chaos: places like New York, where there were many transmitters competing with one another, were especially messy. As things became a bit more orderly and the industry grew, politicians and religious figures found radio a powerful tool for sending for their message: one Catholic priest, disturbed by the paltry number of parishioners at his little church, had the idea of broadcasting the service and would grow to be a media giant, known as Father Coughlin, whose talks could reach an entire fifth of the American populace. The book has a lot of surprises: “Silent Cal” Coolidge was quite comfortable with using the radio, for instance, and some early sports authorities were positively resistant toward the new medium, believing that broadcasting matches would undermine ticket sales. The book ends with the rise of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who used radio masterfully to win and maintain the trust of the American people during the great depression.
I’ve been meaning to read this for a few years now, and chanced to see it available on Kindle Unlimited. It proved a thoroughly fun dive into the early 20th century, and stuck me as very similar to the internet revolution that I personally lived through: this look into the dawn of the mass communication age is also the dawn of our own information page. Definitely worth taking a look at!
Related:
The Network: The Battle for the Airwaves. This is more of a technical & government-policy history of radio broadcasting. Quite readable and useful, but not focused on culture the way Hello Everybody! is
The Victorian Internet, Tom Standage. On radio’s papa, telegraphy..
Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World, Jill Jones. Again a history of patent wars and technical innovation, less attention on changing society.
June 26, 2025
A colorful cultural history of American radio, from the 1920s to 1941. The book delights in stories of con men, scoundrels, grifters, provocateurs, and populists, focusing primarily on evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson; radio priest Father Charles E. Coughlin; theater impresario Roxy Rothhafel; singer Rudy Vallée; Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, the voices of Amos & Andy; ubiquitous announcer Graham McNamee, who pioneered sports, entertainment, and news announcing; and medical quacks Norman Baker, who peddled a phony cancer cure, and Dr. John R. Brinkley, who pioneered the transplantation of goat glands in males to cure erectile dysfunction.
Rudel also covers the major national news and sporting events that became important in radio's history, such as the sinking of the Titanic ocean liner, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, the Dempsey-Carpentier and Dempsey-Sharkey heavyweight fights, the 1921 World Series featuring the New York Giants vs. New York Yankees, and the 1932 presidential election featuring Herbert Hoover vs. Franklin Roosevelt. Surprisingly, Rudel fails to mention Orson Welles' 1938 radio adaptation of War of the Worlds, perhaps the most influential moment in American radio history.
The book highlights the political and economic issues that plagued early American radio, but avoids criticism of the monopolies, such as RCA, that the U.S. government helped form. It also dedicates only a few pages to the technical innovations that led to radio. It fails to even mention that FM radio, which has much better audio quality and less interference, was invented in the 1930s but wasn't widely adopted until the 1960s. Although Rudel appears to favor the loosely-regulated, privately-owned radio industry that eventually developed in the U.S., his story would have been helped by more coverage of how radio fared in other markets, such as Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
Rudel also covers the major national news and sporting events that became important in radio's history, such as the sinking of the Titanic ocean liner, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, the Dempsey-Carpentier and Dempsey-Sharkey heavyweight fights, the 1921 World Series featuring the New York Giants vs. New York Yankees, and the 1932 presidential election featuring Herbert Hoover vs. Franklin Roosevelt. Surprisingly, Rudel fails to mention Orson Welles' 1938 radio adaptation of War of the Worlds, perhaps the most influential moment in American radio history.
The book highlights the political and economic issues that plagued early American radio, but avoids criticism of the monopolies, such as RCA, that the U.S. government helped form. It also dedicates only a few pages to the technical innovations that led to radio. It fails to even mention that FM radio, which has much better audio quality and less interference, was invented in the 1930s but wasn't widely adopted until the 1960s. Although Rudel appears to favor the loosely-regulated, privately-owned radio industry that eventually developed in the U.S., his story would have been helped by more coverage of how radio fared in other markets, such as Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
September 1, 2020
While the book is subtitled “the dawn of American radio”, it’s really more about the morning.
The initial technological development and first steps in the 1910s are covered off in one brief chapter. The focus of “Hello Everybody” is the next phase - the explosive growth of radio in the decade of the 1920s after the technology was worked out. In this period, radio made the leap from a niche hobby where amateurs built their own transmitters and communicated on a one-to-one basis, to a mass broadcasting culture dominated by big business, with NBC’s birth as the first national network in 1926 serving as one key milestone. This development was not seen as inevitable by many in radio’s early days. As one early observer questioned, “Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?”
There is a lot here on radio’s role in presidential and election politics, looking at Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and Roosevelt. Hoover plays double duty, as in his earlier role as Secretary of Commerce, he was a key figure in establishing the Federal Radio Commission, and its efforts to maintain some order and control over the allocation of frequency and power on the radio spectrum.
The book provides a good summary of the many directions in which radio evolved in the 1920s - sportscasting (boxing, baseball, and college football being the main draws), religion, news, and entertainment.
The book is marred a bit by Rudel’s lengthy descriptions of some peripheral radio characters, which (to me at least) were not all that interesting, in particular, Dr. John Brinkley, who seems to be everwhere in this book. I also would have liked to have seen a bit more on the social impact of radio on daily life.
But these are minor criticisms. Overall, this is a solid book.
The initial technological development and first steps in the 1910s are covered off in one brief chapter. The focus of “Hello Everybody” is the next phase - the explosive growth of radio in the decade of the 1920s after the technology was worked out. In this period, radio made the leap from a niche hobby where amateurs built their own transmitters and communicated on a one-to-one basis, to a mass broadcasting culture dominated by big business, with NBC’s birth as the first national network in 1926 serving as one key milestone. This development was not seen as inevitable by many in radio’s early days. As one early observer questioned, “Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?”
There is a lot here on radio’s role in presidential and election politics, looking at Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and Roosevelt. Hoover plays double duty, as in his earlier role as Secretary of Commerce, he was a key figure in establishing the Federal Radio Commission, and its efforts to maintain some order and control over the allocation of frequency and power on the radio spectrum.
The book provides a good summary of the many directions in which radio evolved in the 1920s - sportscasting (boxing, baseball, and college football being the main draws), religion, news, and entertainment.
The book is marred a bit by Rudel’s lengthy descriptions of some peripheral radio characters, which (to me at least) were not all that interesting, in particular, Dr. John Brinkley, who seems to be everwhere in this book. I also would have liked to have seen a bit more on the social impact of radio on daily life.
But these are minor criticisms. Overall, this is a solid book.
July 1, 2019
First of all, I enjoyed the book. There is much history on how radio embarked on the mass unifier of the United States and the beginning of radio networking of NBC and CBS. This is a history that not many know today.
I did find the read sometimes tedious in the writer's obvious devotion to baseball and of the person by the name, Graham McNamee, which I estimate he made reference to more than 50 times. It would have been acceptable if he had devoted possibly several paragraphs to this early radio announcer to highlight his contribution to radio history and then move on. Nevertheless, the book was informative, historical, and enjoyable. Recommended.
I did find the read sometimes tedious in the writer's obvious devotion to baseball and of the person by the name, Graham McNamee, which I estimate he made reference to more than 50 times. It would have been acceptable if he had devoted possibly several paragraphs to this early radio announcer to highlight his contribution to radio history and then move on. Nevertheless, the book was informative, historical, and enjoyable. Recommended.
November 18, 2024
A fun overview of the peak radio era from the teens to the early 30's. While driven by the growth of the radio, the topics really range quite a bit, from sports, to politics, to entertainment, to charlatans and con men, and everything else between. It's almost a series of mini histories, which highlight how radio really had a hand in everything. All tied together very nicely.
September 30, 2019
great stories
This is a well researched book. It reads more like a novel than a textbook. It's fulll of great stories, many of which are surprising and all are interesting. It's a reminder that nothing is really new.
This is a well researched book. It reads more like a novel than a textbook. It's fulll of great stories, many of which are surprising and all are interesting. It's a reminder that nothing is really new.
January 3, 2020
Overall an enjoyable read. It went more into people and events in the era than I expected (beyond just what was happening with radio). I would have preferred that the book didn't end around 1940 but continued into the 50s, 60s and beyond.
May 15, 2020
Interesting if a bit too opinionated
The history is well done. The author became a bit heavy -handed in political opinion as it came to its concluding chapters. I did not like the change in time.
The history is well done. The author became a bit heavy -handed in political opinion as it came to its concluding chapters. I did not like the change in time.
September 11, 2020
Very spotty and inconsistent history of early radio. The author focuses mainly on what interests him rather than what was important. Far too much space is devoted to the antics of small-town quacks and religious hucksters whose long-term impact on the medium was negligible. Not worth your time.
April 14, 2022
Hated to come to the end!
This was a book I hated to see the end of! Entertaining and well researched. If you are interested in the early days of broadcasting, this is an outstanding resource.
This was a book I hated to see the end of! Entertaining and well researched. If you are interested in the early days of broadcasting, this is an outstanding resource.
July 8, 2024
I was quite surprised by this book. It covers the development of radio, not the technology, but the business/commercial aspects. Many entertaining stories about the many conflicts and issues. Ends in the early 1940s. Overall, pretty fun.
Read
July 17, 2020Slow moving - abandoned ship on this one.
August 27, 2023
3.5 stars.
July 4, 2024
Excellent . . .
A good telling of the early years of radio. It's got entertainers. Athletes. Politicians. Quacks. Evangelists with agendas. Very entertaining.
A good telling of the early years of radio. It's got entertainers. Athletes. Politicians. Quacks. Evangelists with agendas. Very entertaining.
August 17, 2024
An interesting book about the dawn of radio. I really enjoyed reading it. Not and action book but an interesting book.
March 17, 2020
As a former radio guy and fan of old time radio, I enjoyed what is essentially a series of essays. I suspect most folks interested in old radio will enjoy the facts and stories in this book and forgive a bit of dryness in the telling.
March 20, 2012
This book was extremely interesting. Anthony Rudel looks at the dawn of Radio, from the developments leading up to the first licensed broadcast from Westinghouse's KDKA Pittsburgh - returning election results in 1920, to it's use in the Hoover - Roosevelt Campaign. He profiles a lot of early charismatic radio personalities and discusses how radio developed from basically a hobby, into a profitable business that transformed the way Americans experienced news, sports, culture and information.
I think the reason Rudel is so interested in the dawn of radio because it closely parallels how the internet has sprung up in the US. Both processes were extremely free from government control, flooded the market quickly and gave people access to information and entertainment in ways they had never experienced before. The way that newspapers were threatened by radio is very interesting and it definitely is similar to the struggles they are having adapting to internet news today.
Some of the most interesting parts of the book are about the discussions of what should or shouldn't be broadcast over the radio, how several quack doctors gained tremendous exposure because they were broadcasting for "the public good" and not actually promoting themselves and their sexual rejuvenation surgeries or cancer treatments. The birth of "variety" shows is profiled and how America's love of vaudeville translated into performance pieces for radio entertainment. The birth of sportscasting and breaking news is also extremely interesting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the 1920's or information technology. The only reason this book didn't get a 4 or 5 star rating is it could have used some better transitions and tie ins.
I think the reason Rudel is so interested in the dawn of radio because it closely parallels how the internet has sprung up in the US. Both processes were extremely free from government control, flooded the market quickly and gave people access to information and entertainment in ways they had never experienced before. The way that newspapers were threatened by radio is very interesting and it definitely is similar to the struggles they are having adapting to internet news today.
Some of the most interesting parts of the book are about the discussions of what should or shouldn't be broadcast over the radio, how several quack doctors gained tremendous exposure because they were broadcasting for "the public good" and not actually promoting themselves and their sexual rejuvenation surgeries or cancer treatments. The birth of "variety" shows is profiled and how America's love of vaudeville translated into performance pieces for radio entertainment. The birth of sportscasting and breaking news is also extremely interesting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the 1920's or information technology. The only reason this book didn't get a 4 or 5 star rating is it could have used some better transitions and tie ins.
May 4, 2014
Absolutely one of my favorite nonfiction books I've read this year. We hear a lot about radio as an established part of American life throughout the late 30's until the 50's, but Anthony Rudel goes back a little further to show us the advent of this young technology to it's esteemed place in our culture. Along the way he introduces us to a troupe of raconteurs, charlatans, and raccoon-coated showmen, peddling vials of homemade medical concoctions, politics, and "Fleischmann's Yeast". As with any great American establishment, radio has deep roots in eccentricity and controversy. With all the poise of P.T. Barnum at the circus, Rudel introduces us to each vaudeville showman and radio ventriloquist and keeps you reading til the very end.
Want to read
September 19, 2008Do you love radio? Read about its colorful beginnings in a story told with "clarity, humor, and an eye for outsize characters forgotten by polite history."
We have one ARC, please call Mary!
We have one ARC, please call Mary!
September 8, 2009
A lot of familiar names crop up in this history and a lot of unfamiliar ones, too. Herbert Hoover is to radio as Al Gore is to the Internet? Who's to say?
June 23, 2009
Excellent story about the earliest days of radio and the impact it made on American commerce, social history, pop culture and life in general.
December 3, 2009
This is a scrambled, tangential amalgam of anecdotes. It was seldom interesting, despite decent prose. If I didn't work in radio I wouldn't have finished it.
August 20, 2009
This is a good history of the early days of radio. But for some reason, it was a yawn to read.
December 22, 2009
A brisk review of radio's earl years, spotlighting some of the oversized characters who ushered in a new age.
August 12, 2012
A strong debate in my head, on weather to give it three, or four stars. It was a very fun read
March 9, 2014
Good, but not great. If you like radio, then read it. I found some of the references to be great reads.
July 25, 2013
skimmed for thesis
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews