The Network

The Battle for the Airwaves and the Birth of the Communications Age

By: Scott Woolley

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

The astonishing story of America's airwaves, the two friends - one a media mogul, the other a famous inventor - who made them available to us, and the government that figured out how to put a price on air.

This is the origin story of the airwaves - the foundational technology of the communications age - as told through the 40-year friendship of an entrepreneurial industrialist and a brilliant inventor.

David Sarnoff, the head of RCA and equal parts Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, and William Randolph Hearst, was the greatest supporter of his friend, Edwin Armstrong, developer of the first amplifier, the modern radio transmitter, and FM radio. Sarnoff was convinced that Armstrong's inventions had the power to change the way societies communicated with each other forever. He would become a visionary captain of the media industry, even predicting the advent of the Internet.

In the mid-1930s, however, when Armstrong suspected Sarnoff of orchestrating a cadre of government officials to seize control of the FM airwaves, he committed suicide. Sarnoff had a very different view of who his friend's enemies were.

Many corrupt politicians and corporations saw in Armstrong's inventions the opportunity to commodify our most ubiquitous natural resource - the air. This early alliance between high tech and business set the precedent for countless legal and industrial battles over broadband and licensing bandwidth, many of which continue to influence policy and debate today.

©2016 Scott Woolley (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

There's more than one side to the story.

Most fans of the story of radios development in the 20th century have had Tom Lewis Empire of the air to work from that piece from 1991 paints a picture most sympathetic to Armstrong it makes he the focus of the story as much his inventions.

Not spending much time on DeForest (who's accomplishments are generally recognized as significant but limited) tthis tome argues s that Sarnoff made the right decisions concerning FM and unfortunately his relationship with Armstrong suffered.

great book

well written and reseached. this book is essential reading for anyone in the ICT space.

Network Futures

Solid informative book. It's history that has impact both now and in the years to come. Technology is not sterile and soulless; it is the expression of human aspiration and genius. It would have been nice to cover how FM and AM played their role in the advent and progress of television. However this doesn't limit the quality of the book and its powerful account of how we wind up with the communications capabilities and services we now take for granted. Bravo-Zulu.

The Classic Struggle

This book is about the development of communication technology. Woolley follows the development from the telegraph, telephone, radio, radar, television to the internet. The author used the history of two men and a company to tell the story. One man is David Sarnoff (1891-1971), the media mogul responsible for “Radio Corporation of American” (RCA). The other man is Edwin Armstrong (1890-1954) a prolific inventor. Among his many inventions was the amplifier to enable telegraph signal reception from greater distances and FM radio. This book opens with the dramatic scene of Armstrong’s suicide. Armstrong claimed that Sarnoff betrayed him.

Both these men were visionaries. Sarnoff led the charge on radio broadcasting, color television and articulating a vision of the internet. Both men were obstructed by corporate interest and government agencies that stifled innovation. Sarnoff was excellent at encouraging scientist and determining what technology will change mankind but terrible at business management particularly of NBC which RCA owned. He foresaw the popularity of color TV but had no interest in the programs on the TV.

The book is well written and by focusing on these two men Woolley avoided getting bogged down in excessive detail on technology. The plot driven narrative illuminates the genesis of innovation and is highly readable. Woolley reveals the classic struggle of the visionaries against the established interest. Stephen Hoye does a good job narrating the book.