Everything has a beginning. None was more profound-and quite as unexpected-than Information Technology. Here for the first time is the untold story of how our new age came to be and the bright boys who made it happen. What began on the bare floor of an old laundry building eventually grew to rival in size the Manhattan Project. The unexpected

As the Great Depression brought America to the brink of disaster, a devoted single mother in Cleveland, Ohio, wrestled triumph out of adversity by creating a community activity that would inspire the nation. Josephine Morhard never waited for something to happen. At twelve years old, fiercely independent Josephine left her family’s Pennsylvania farm to start a new life. Coming of age during one of the most devastating times in America, and weathering two bad marriages, Josephine put her personal problems aside to insure a productive future for her daughter and son. But Junior was a volatile boy of eight—until his mother came upon a novel sports idea to encourage discipline, guidance, and self-worth in her son. Out of a dream, an empty lot, and the enthusiasm of other neighborhood kids, Josephine established the first boys’ baseball league in America. Her city—and the country—was watching. Beyond all expectations, the Cleveland Indians rallied behind her project. Indians legends Bob Feller, Jeff Heath, and Roy Weatherly helped hone the boys’ skills; renowned sports reporter Hal Lebovitz became an umpire; and they were given permission to play in historic League Park. All the while, as Josephine’s Little Indians graduated into the Junior American and Junior National Leagues, and finally a Little World Series, she instilled in her boys strong values, good sportsmanship, and an unprecedented sense of accomplishment. Some of them, like Ray Lindquist and Jack Heinen, would become Minor League players. Not one of Mrs. Morhard’s boys would ever forget her. In this stirring biography of an unsung American heroine, Josephine Morhard’s daughter-in-law recounts the extraordinary life and accomplishments of a resilient, selfless, and determined woman. Her inspiring true story—a long time coming—is something to cheer for.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A moving and powerful account by an acclaimed journalist that "informs the heart. [This] meticulous portrait of two boys in a Chicago housing project shows how much heroism is required to survive, let alone escape" (The New York Times). "Alex Kotlowitz joins the ranks of the important few writers on the subiect of urban poverty."—Chicago Tribune The story of two remarkable boys struggling to survive in Chicago's Henry Horner Homes, a public housing complex disfigured by crime and neglect.

In talking about contemporary media, we often use a language of newness, applying words like “revolution” and “disruption.” Yet, the emergence of new sound media technologies and content—from the earliest internet radio broadcasts to the development of algorithmic music services and the origins of podcasting—are not a disruption, but a continuation of the century-long history of radio. Today’s most innovative media makers are reintroducing forms of audio storytelling from radio’s past. Sound Streams is the first book to historicize radio-internet convergence from the early ’90s through the present, demonstrating how so-called new media represent an evolutionary shift that is nevertheless historically consistent with earlier modes of broadcasting. Various iterations of internet radio, from streaming audio to podcasting, are all new radio practices rather than each being a separate new medium: radio is any sound media that is purposefully crafted to be heard by an audience. Rather than a particular set of technologies or textual conventions, web-based broadcasting combines unique practices and features and ideas from radio history. In addition, there exists a distinctive conversationality and reflexivity to radio talk, including a propensity for personal stories and emotional disclosure, that suits networked digital media culture. What media convergence has done is extend and intensify radio’s logics of connectivity and sharing; sonically mediated personal expression intended for public consideration abounds in online media networks. Sound Streams marks a significant contribution to digital media and internet studies. Its mix of cultural history, industry research, and genre and formal analysis, especially of contemporary audio storytelling, will appeal to media scholars, radio and podcast practitioners, audio journalism students, and dedicated podcast fans.

From leading breakfast radio star Christian O’Connell comes a brilliant and laugh-out-loud story of an ordinary boy with an extraordinary secret radio show. (Broadcast from his shed.)

"A ... debut about two young brothers and their physically and psychologically abusive father"--

At 36,000 feet, Wi-Fi converts our airline seats to remote offices. It lets us read email in airports, watch video in coffee shops, and listen to music at home. Wi-Fi is everywhere. But where did it come from? Wi-Fi and the Bad Boys of Radio takes us back to when the Internet was first gaining popularity, email took ten minutes to load up, and cell phones were big and unwieldy. But Alex Hills had a vision: people carrying small handheld devices that were always connected. His unwavering purpose was to change the way we use the Internet. After being a teenage "ham operator" and bringing radio, TV and telephone service to the Eskimos of northern Alaska, Dr. Hills led a small band of innovators to overcome "the bad boys of radio" - the devilishly unpredictable behavior of radio waves - and build the network that would become the forerunner to today's Wi-Fi. "I know of no one so capable of telling the Wi-Fi story and explaining so clearly how the technology works. Alex Hills is certain to capture the public imagination with this new book." Jim Geier, Principal Consultant, Wireless-Nets, Ltd. and Wi-Fi author "Alex Hills has contributed to the developing world and to developing advanced wireless technology at one of the world's most tech-savvy universities. Working on both frontiers, Dr. Hills pioneered wireless Internet and launched a revolution in the way the world communicates. His story of how we "cut the cord" begins in a place where there were no cords to begin with -- remote Alaska." Mead Treadwell, Lieutenant Governor of Alaska and former Chair, United States Arctic Research Commission Alex Hills is Distinguished Service Professor of Engineering & Public Policy and Electrical & Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Hills is frequently invited to speak at conventions, conferences, university seminars, corporate training sessions, and community events. His talks, with their vivid stories and clear explanations of technology, have been well-received by audiences throughout the United States and in more than twenty foreign countries. An inventor with eleven patents, Dr. Hills can write and speak in technical jargon. But in his writing, as in his talks, he speaks to everyone -- technical specialists and the public alike. People of all backgrounds have been fascinated by his contributions to Scientific American and IEEE Spectrum magazines -- articles that explain technology in a style that is clear to any reader.