Playback

the long version

"Playback is the first book to place the history of sound reproduction within its larger social, economic, and cultural context - and includes appearances by everyone from Thomas Edison to Enrico Caruso to Dick Clark to Grandmaster Flash to Napster CEO Shawn Fanning. In a narrative that begins with Edison's cylinder and ends with ditial music, the ubiquitous iPod, and the file-sharing wars, this is a history we have all experienced in one way or another. From the Victrola, the 78, the 45, and the 33-1/3 to the 8-track, cassette, compact disc, and MP3, the story of Playback is also the story of music, and the music business, in the 20th century and beyond."--Jacket.