Rating: 
Summary: Definitely Not An Encyclopedia
Review: As the former editor of an Old-Time Radio club newsletter, a writer for several other Old-Time Radio clubs, and an Old-Time Radio researcher, I know that careful research is an important step in the writing of accurate factual material.While this book is an improvement over its predecessor, "Same Time, Same Station," there are still too many factual errors in this book for it to warrant consideration as an Old-Time Radio "Encyclopedia."
A few examples of factual errors. It was Virginia Christine and not Virginia Gregg who appeared the motion pictures "Judgement at Nuremberg" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." Janet Waldo did not play Alice in the Disney classic "Alice in Wonderland;" Kathryn Beaumont played Alice. Janet Waldo played Alice in the Hanna-Barbera 1966 version of "Alice in Wonderland." These are easily verifiable facts and yet the author got them wrong. I verified that Virginia Gregg did not and that Virginia Christine did appear in the preceding two motion pictures by checking the cast credits of the movies in several motion picture reference books. I verified my facts on "Alice in Wonderland" by checking the Disney and Hanna-Barbera cast lists and by talking to Janet Waldo about her role as Alice during the course of an interview. I cannot recommend this book. One's money would be better spent by purchasing John Dunning's "On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio."
Rating: 
Summary: Better than his earlier edition, but.....
Review: Mr. Lackmann has improved this book very much from the earlier edition which was loaded with made up facts and apparently little research. Mr. Lackmann, in his acknowledgements, though has not given credit to the many readers who had written him to correct his mistaken information. He acts as if somehow these facts were miraculously corrected by themselves. There are better reference books on radio than this one. Don't waste your time.
Rating:
Summary: Errors in book detract from its value
Review: Nice photos, but how much faith can you put into the text when simple errors stick out like sore thumbs For instance: Man Called X: Ken Thurston did not have a girlfriend and had nothing to do with the Cafe Tamborine (that was an entirely different program.) Jack Moyles did NOT replace Frank Sinatra as Rocky Fortune. That series ended when Sinatra left it. Moyles DID star in Rocky Jordan, an entirely different show. It is little things like this and make the book suspect for me. How many more errors are in this book? What can one take as fact and not with a grain of salt? Excellent concept, faulty execution. I would not buy this book again and am considering returning my copy for credit. I do not consider this book to be a valuable reference item. Casual reading yes...reference work...no
Rating: 
Summary: Favorable reviews for the previous edition of this book
Review: Professional book review publications and former and present radio writers and performers had nothing but wonderful things to say about the first edition of this book. This encyclopedia won the Ray and Pat Browne Award as "Best Reference Book of 1996" which was presented by the Popular Culture Association. LIBRARY JOURNAL has given the book a "Highly Recommended" rating and commented in their review, "The sponsor guide and drama anthology log are almost worth the price alone." Jay Hickerson in his popular old time radio newsletter, HELLO AGAIN, said, "I well recommend this book." The Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy (SPERDVAC) reported that the book has "especially useful individual show descriptions," and "impresssive illustrations of radio headliners, past and present," as well as "a massive index of names and shows." Radio legend Norman Corwin, after reading the book wrote, "The volume is rich in pictures and information, and as I went through it, I had many a nostalgic pang." This second edition has been added to and revised.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reviews for first edition
Review: Professional reviewers and radio writers and performers of the past and present have had nothing but favorable things to say about the first edition of this book, which has been revised and expanded for this second edition. The encyclopedia won the Ray and Pat Browne Award for "Best Reference Book of 1996) presented by the Popular Culture Association. LIBRARY JOURNAL has given the book a "highly recommended" rating and commented, "the sponsor guide and drama anthology are almost worth the price alone." The Friends of Old Time Radio's Jay Hickerson, in his popular newsletter HELLO AGAIN, said, "I well recommend this book." The Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy (SPERDVAC)reported that the book has "especially useful individual show descriptions" and "impressive illustration of radio headliners, past and present," as well as "a massive index of names and shows." Radio legend Norman Corwin, after reading this book wrote, "The volume is rich in pictures and information, and as I went through it, I had many a nostalgic pang."
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful, concise reference book about old time radio
Review: Ron Lackmann's Encyclopedia of American Radio is a great book to have in a library. The descriptions of the celebrated radio programs of the past and the hundreds of short biographies of many of the most popular radio actors of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, as well as those of several current radio performers, are informative and clearly and simply written. Most important, this is a fine reference book for anyone who wants to read about "old time" radio. The photographs in the book are really excellent and I have never seen most of them anywhere else before, in spite of the fact that I have read about old time radio extensively. This is a good book for young people who want to learn more about a radio show or a performer of the past they might have heard about in passing. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in entertainment of the past.
Rating:
Summary: A diversified book about Old Time radio
Review: Ron Lackmann's Encyclopedia of American Radio is a wonderfuul and useful book about Old Time Radio. It is the only book I have found on the subject that gives both show descriptions and biographies of many major radio personalities. I have found other books that are filled with far many more errors than are found in this book, and yet those books seem to get favorable reviews from certain somewhat bitter people. I have been told that authors writing for vanity publishers often write favorable reviews for their own books on similar sujects and nasty picky criticisms of other people's books on similar subjects in order to undermine work done by others. How awful. I found the illustrations in Lackmann's Radio Encyclopedia especially nostalgic and very provocative of a time gone by. I understand the bvook won the POpular Culture award as Best Reference book for 1997...which was well deserved. The extensive APPendices is also most impressive.
Rating:
Summary: A diversified book about Old Time radio
Review: Ron Lackmann's Encyclopedia of American Radio is a wonderfuul and useful book about Old Time Radio. It is the only book I have found on the subject that gives both show descriptions and biographies of many major radio personalities. I have found other books that are filled with far many more errors than are found in this book, and yet those books seem to get favorable reviews from certain somewhat bitter people. I have been told that authors writing for vanity publishers often write favorable reviews for their own books on similar sujects and nasty picky criticisms of other people's books on similar subjects in order to undermine work done by others. How awful. I found the illustrations in Lackmann's Radio Encyclopedia especially nostalgic and very provocative of a time gone by. I understand the bvook won the POpular Culture award as Best Reference book for 1997...which was well deserved. The extensive APPendices is also most impressive.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent, comprehensive reference.
Review: Ron Lackmann's The Encyclopedia Of American Radio provides a dictionary of American radio history which includes synopses of hundreds of shows, broadcast histories and air times, and analyses of the influence of writing and network decision-making processes on radio content and distribution. An excellent reference.
Rating:
Summary: Nearly useless.
Review: The only useful thing about this infuriating -- and inaccurate-- book is the selection of photos. Otherwise, get Dunning.
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