Douglas Gomery, one of the leading economic historians of film, is Professor in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Among his books are The Media in America and (as coauthor) Who Owns theMedia?

• Acknowledgments, Photographs, Preface: The Research Question, the Method, and the Data, 1. A Preview: Order and Profit, Not Chaos, 2. The Preconditions for Innovation, 3. The Warner Bros. Innovate Sound, 4. William Fox Innovates Sound, 5. Warners’ Blockbuster: The Singing Fool, 6. Paramount and Loew’s Wait, and Then Make Their Deal, 7. The Rise of RKO: The Failure of All Others, 8. The Diffusion of Sound in the United States, 9. Diffusion of Sound Throughout the World, 10. The Formation of the Studio System:Merger Mania, 11. Mopping up the Loose Ends, 12. The Coming of Sound: A Reinterpretation, Endnotes, Index

Douglas Gomery, one of the leading economic historians of film, is Professor in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Among his books are The Media in America and (as coauthor) Who Owns theMedia?

• Acknowledgments, Photographs, Preface: The Research Question, the Method, and the Data, 1. A Preview: Order and Profit, Not Chaos, 2. The Preconditions for Innovation, 3. The Warner Bros. Innovate Sound, 4. William Fox Innovates Sound, 5. Warners’ Blockbuster: The Singing Fool, 6. Paramount and Loew’s Wait, and Then Make Their Deal, 7. The Rise of RKO: The Failure of All Others, 8. The Diffusion of Sound in the United States, 9. Diffusion of Sound Throughout the World, 10. The Formation of the Studio System:Merger Mania, 11. Mopping up the Loose Ends, 12. The Coming of Sound: A Reinterpretation, Endnotes, Index

Douglas Gomery, one of the leading economic historians of film, is Professor in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Among his books are The Media in America and (as coauthor) Who Owns theMedia?

• Acknowledgments, Photographs, Preface: The Research Question, the Method, and the Data, 1. A Preview: Order and Profit, Not Chaos, 2. The Preconditions for Innovation, 3. The Warner Bros. Innovate Sound, 4. William Fox Innovates Sound, 5. Warners’ Blockbuster: The Singing Fool, 6. Paramount and Loew’s Wait, and Then Make Their Deal, 7. The Rise of RKO: The Failure of All Others, 8. The Diffusion of Sound in the United States, 9. Diffusion of Sound Throughout the World, 10. The Formation of the Studio System:Merger Mania, 11. Mopping up the Loose Ends, 12. The Coming of Sound: A Reinterpretation, Endnotes, Index