cover image Television: An International History

Television: An International History

. Oxford University Press, USA, $55 (420pp) ISBN 978-0-19-811999-9

In this collection of 12 essays, we learn that the word ``television'' was used for the first time at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. The first demonstration of TV was conducted in 1909. And although in the U.S. the medium was ready to go commercial in 1939, the advent of WWII delayed its debut until 1947; even then, only 60,000 sets had been sold here. But by the early 1950s, with the help of such shows as I Love Lucy and Dragnet, TV had become a part of American home life. In other areas of the world, Charles de Gaulle became the first politician to use TV to his personal advantage; and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 was the kickstart for British TV viewing. The chapter titled ``Non-Fiction Television'' gives us a political blow-by-blow from Senator Joe McCarthy through the Watergate hearings; ``Television in the Home and Family'' examines the sociological effects of TV on family life; and another essay looks into the perpetual debates about ``Taste, Decency, and Standards.'' We also see examples of Soviet TV propaganda: Your Leninist Library; and how the 1964 Tokyo Olympics ushered in the age of color TV in Japan. Smith, a former BBC producer, has edited an academic, and sometimes dry, look at a vital medium. Photos. (Sept.)