A sweeping, anecdotal account of the great sounds and voices of radio–and how it became a bonding agent for a generation of American youth When television became the next big thing in broadcast entertainment, everyone figured video would kill the radio star–and radio, period. But radio came roaring back with a whole new concept. The war was over, the baby boom was on, the country was in clover, and a bold new beat was giving the syrupy songs of yesteryear a run for their money. Add transistors, 45 rpm records, and a young man named Elvis to the mix, and the result was the perfect storm that rocked, rolled, and reinvented radio. Visionary entrepreneurs like Todd Storz pioneered the Top 40 concept, which united a generation. But it took trendsetting “disc jockeys” like Alan Freed, Murray the K, Wolfman Jack, Cousin Brucie, and their fast-talking, too-cool-for-school counterparts across the land to turn time, temperature, and the same irresistible hit tunes played again and again into the ubiquitous sound track of the fifties and sixties. The Top 40 sound broke through racial barriers, galvanized coming-of-age kids (and scandalized their perplexed parents), and provided the insistent, inescapable backbeat for times that were a-changin’. Along with rock-and-roll music came the attitude that would literally change the “voice” of radio forever, via the likes of raconteur Jean Shepherd, who captivated his loyal following of “Night People”; the inimitable Bob Fass, whose groundbreaking Radio Unnameable inaugurated the anything-goes free-form style that would come to define the alternative frontier of FM; and a small-time Top 40 deejay who would ultimately find national fame as a political talk-show host named Rush Limbaugh. From Hunter Hancock, who pushed beyond the limits of 1950s racial segregation with rhythm and blues and hepcat patter, to Howard Stern, who blew through all the limits with a blue streak of outrageous on-air antics; from the heyday of summer songs that united carefree listeners to the latter days of political talk that divides contentious callers; from the haze of classic rock to the latest craze in hip-hop, Something in the Air chronicles the extraordinary evolution of the unique and timeless medium that captured our hearts and minds, shook up our souls, tuned in–and turned on–our consciousness, and went from being written off to rewriting the rules of pop culture.

There is something in the air. Are you ready for a journey? Buckle up and accompany me for a close up view of what really goes on behind the wire to keep nerve gas and other chemical agents out of our air here in the United States. Is the wire to keep nerve gas inside or to maintain secrets? Observe the pathways for nerve gas and other chemical agents to enter our environment and the air we breathe, then you decide. Would you report safety problems regarding the nerve gas to your superiors. What should you do? Experience how it feels to be labeled unpatriotic, watch your employer embarrass and lie about your children then ward off conspiracy after conspiracy to defend yourself in an effort to save your career until your superiors use the United States Court and federal prosecutors to indict you for eight counts of felonies. Watch your excellent reputation be destroyed, almost overnight to become evil, in order to ruin your credibility so the safety problems can be ignored. Watch federal whistle blowing protection laws be thrown out the window because the army has learned a way to circumvent the law to retaliate by incarcerating you in a federal penitentiary. The only retaliation that could be more extreme would be to murder the whistle blowers but don't discount murder! Continue with me for a trip through the federal government rehabilitation program behind the wire at the most secure federal correction complex in the United States, the home of the Supermax nick named the Alcatraz of the Rockies in Florence, Colorado and prison chambers for the most wicked men in our society. Be brave, my word is my sword and it is true so I promise you will return safely and honorably. We will have fun times and at times we will smile but we will also experience tragedy and some of vilest ordeals life has to offer. A life of education is filled with opposites and we will experience a seemingly unending array of them. Meet some new friends. Enjoy their company and conversation but guard yourself at all times and pray that you will never meet some of the other men and women you read about in person. The few individuals who do not want to be counted among my friends and who participated against me appeared to believe the mission was infallible; at all costs the chemical agents must burn baby burn, full speed ahead, and any other course to destroy these weapons would be unpatriotic, satanic, and blasphemous. I promise that you will be rewarded by reinforcing your own determination to be the same type of person in your professional life at work that you profess to be at home with your family and friends. You will add a more clear definition to family, service, deceit, freedom, friendship, love, hate, patriotism, service, conspiracy, and sabotage. This journey is my book. It is a story that must be told to embolden future references to chemical agent destruction efforts with factual discovery and honesty. You should be aware of this story before determining your own conclusions. As for me I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. I felt the pain and joy as I lived it. I climbed up the ladder before I fell. I was defeated, I was lost, then I was awakened, and now I am climbing again. We will see the story together by using the full set of puzzle pieces to form a complete picture and I will explain why the lines exist in between the pieces regarding the chemical agent destruction program. The army will give you a perfect picture then describe the border as being safe and pretend the lines between the pieces do not exist. They will say trust us, we care about safety, safety is of utmost importance, don't ask specific questions, and stay away. Free agency is yours so you be the judge. Why were the deadly weapons made? Are the deadly weapons being destroyed and validated as destroyed safely by our sampling and analytical procedures? Or, are the deadly weapons just being destroyed? My friends and I have bee

In the tradition of Seabiscuit and The Summer of ’49, a gripping sports narrative that brilliantly tells the amazing individual stories of the unforgettable athletes who gathered in Mexico City in a year of dramatic upheaval. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics reflected the spirit of their revolutionary times. Richard Hoffer’s Something in the Air captures the turbulence and offbeat heroism of that historic Olympiad, which was as rich in inspiring moments as it was drenched in political and racial tensions. Although the basketball star Lew Alcindor decided to boycott, heavyweight boxer George Foreman not only competed, but waved miniature American flags over his fallen opponents. The sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos became as famous for their raised-fist gestures of protest as their speed on the track. No one was prepared for Bob Beamon’s long jump, which broke the world’s record by a staggering twenty-two inches. And then there was Dick Fosbury, the goofball high jumper whose backwards, upside down approach to the bar (the "Fosbury Flop") baffled his coaches while breaking records. Though Fosbury was his own man, he was apolitical and easygoing. He didn’t defy authority; he defied gravity. Witty, insightful, and filled with human drama, Something in the Air mixes Shakespearean complexity with Hollywood sentimentality, sociopolitical significance, and the exhilarating spectacle of youthful, physical prowess. It is a powerful, unforgettable tale that will resonate with sports fans and readers of social history alike.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, after the shock of Elvis Presley and before the Beatles spearheaded the British Invasion, fourteen gifted young songwriters huddled in midtown Manhattan's legendary Brill Building and a warren of offices a bit farther uptown and composed some of the most beguiling and enduring entries in the Great American Songbook. Always Magic in the Air is the first thorough history of these renowned songwriters-tunesmiths who melded black, white, and Latino sounds, integrated audiences before America desegregated its schools, and brought a new social consciousness to pop music.

Describes the origins of thirty-one famous Christmas songs, including "Jingle Bells," "O Holy Night," and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and provides the lyrics to each.

"An utterly satisfying examination of the business of popular music." —Nathaniel Rich, The Atlantic There’s a reason today’s ubiquitous pop hits are so hard to ignore—they’re designed that way. The Song Machine goes behind the scenes to offer an insider’s look at the global hit factories manufacturing the songs that have everyone hooked. Full of vivid, unexpected characters—alongside industry heavy-hitters like Katy Perry, Rihanna, Max Martin, and Ester Dean—this fascinating journey into the strange world of pop music reveals how a new approach to crafting smash hits is transforming marketing, technology, and even listeners’ brains. You’ll never think about music the same way again. A Wall Street Journal Best Business Book

Issued also in printed form.

This book helps young readers understand what happens every time living things take a breath—physically, chemically and culturally. It examines the science of air pollution, while discussing the hurdles presented by globalization, politics and basic human need. The book also separates fact from fiction when it comes to both man made and natural pollution.

In the spring of 2013, pilots Gordon "Joe" Murray and Ron Siwik set out to fly from Kent State University's Andrew W. Paton Airport in northeast Ohio to Dayton's Wright Brothers Airport near Ohio's southern border in two 1946 Piper J3 Cubs in a way no one ever had before - by flying consecutively via all of Ohio's 88 counties, a distance of 1,670 miles. This is the story of their adventure.