Why read Empire of the Air?

Book cover of Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio

Book description

The story of the invention of radio focuses on scientist Lee de Forest, brilliant recluse Edwin Armstrong, and RCA mogul David Sarnoff, who turned a basement discovery into a worldwide communications revolution

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Why read it?

1 author picked Empire of the Air as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Albert Glinsky

Author

The invention of the radio came at a great price for Edwin Armstrong, inventor of the key component that made broadcasting possible. Financially ruined by nefarious competition, he jumped from a window. Lewis’s gripping account of the lives of Armstrong, Lee de Forest, and David Sarnoff—the pioneers who put our lives on the air—is another tug-of-war tale of who got there first or who claimed to have gotten there first and who would profit from crossing the finish line, deserved or not.

I’ve researched the history of radio extensively for my own writing, and Lewis’s account is surely the best…

From Albert's list on iconic 20th Century figures in technology and arts.