Radio in Revolution

J. Justin Castro is an assistant professor of history at Arkansas State University.

"Radio in Revolution offers a clearly written, meticulously researched, and previously untold chronicle of the role that radio technologies played in revolutionary Mexico."-Joy Elizabeth Hayes, Hispanic American Historical Review "Radio in Revolution is a well-researched and engaging book that covers an understudied aspect of Mexican historiography."-Sarah Foss, Jhistory, H-Net Reviews "In Radio in Revolution, the author uncovers the essential role of radio technologies in the consolidation of state power in Mexico between the late 1890s and the 1930s. . . . Castro compels readers to remember the importance of the technology behind state power, something as consequential in our own times as it was during the early twentieth century."-Historian "This book should be of great interest to historians of Mexico and Latin America, to students of comparative nation-building projects, and of course to historians of radio itself. It is well worth a careful read."-Edward Beatty, Pacific Historical Review “Radio in Revolution adeptly addresses a glaring oversight in the historiography of twentieth-century Mexico: the interplay between radio technology and the Mexican Revolution (1910–40).”-JÜrgen Buchenau, coauthor of Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution: Social Upheaval and the Challenge of Rule since the Late Nineteenth Century  “This work has the potential to cause scholars to rethink the importance of technological savvy and acquisition, mainly radio, for Mexico during its revolution and postrevolutionary era. Castro’s decision to tackle radio developments during the Porfiriato and through the revolution renders a very rich analysis.”-Celeste GonzÁlez de Bustamante, author of Muy Buenas Noches: Mexico, Television, and the Cold War  “Radio in Revolution fills a major gap in the historiography of Mexico’s telecommunications and early broadcasting industries. Castro raises the bar for studies of media and nation building during Mexico’s tumultuous revolution.”-JosÉ Luis Ortiz Garza, author of Una radio entre dos reinos “Radio in Revolution adeptly addresses a glaring oversight in the historiography of twentieth-century Mexico: the interplay between radio technology and the Mexican Revolution (1910–40).”-JÜrgen Buchenau, coauthor of Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution: Social Upheaval and the Challenge of Rule since the Late Nineteenth Century“This work has the potential to cause scholars to rethink the importance of technological savvy and acquisition, mainly radio, for Mexico during its revolution and postrevolutionary era. Castro’s decision to tackle radio developments during the Porfiriato and through the revolution renders a very rich analysis.”-Celeste GonzÁlez de Bustamante, author of Muy buenas noches: Mexico, Television, and the Cold War “Castro depicts a significant continuity from Porfirio DÍaz to Plutarco ElÍas Calles in governmental use of radio technology to consolidate centralization. The Mexican Revolution, prototype for all twentieth-century social revolutions, was also the first war in which radio served a major military purpose.”-Robert H. Claxton, author of From “Parsifal” to Peron: Early Radio in Argentina, 1920–1944

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: A Tale of Two Revolutions1. Porfirian Radio, Imperial Designs, and the Mexican Nation2. Radio in Revolution3. Rebuilding a Nation at War4. Growth and Insecurity5. Invisible Hands6. Broadcasting State Culture and Populist PoliticsConclusion: Early Radio and Its LegaciesNotesBibliographyIndex