PATRICIA BRADLEY is the former chair of the Department of Journalism and former director of the American Studies Department at Temple University, USA.

"Patricia Bradley has a unique way of looking at American media - whether it be broadcasting, vaudeville, or silent film - within a culture building context. Her forte is rejecting standard professional history and analyzing media as a cultural artifact and force intermixed with politics. Bradley examines media content and production within celebrated American values such as the entrepreneurial impulse. This book is a must read for those who want a greater understanding of culture without the usual jargon that accompanies such works. Bradley is a gifted scholar and writer." - Jean Folkerts, Dean and Alumni Distinguished Professor, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Introduction: Culture and Nationhood Vaudeville: Temple for the Century Outsider Art: American Popular Song Silent Film: Privatizing Experience Censorship, Class and Culture Isadora Duncan and the Spirit of Modernism Cultural Communities and Cultural Consequences Modern Art Meets Modern Marketing: the Armory Show Unambiguous Ambition: Eugene O'Neill and the Provincetown Players The Politics of Culture: The Singing Army Epilogue: Broadcasting Begins