Luke McKernan is a film historian and Lead Curator of Moving Image at the British Library. He has written widely on early film for a number of academic journals and also curates a web resource on Charles Urban at www.charlesurban.com

Reviews of the hardback edition:‘Luke McKernan’s fascinating new book…’‘Luke McKernan has written a scholarly, important book on a little-known pioneer in the early documentary movement. It deserves to be widely read.’(History Today, January 2014)'It has taken Urban’s champion the better part of a century to arrive. The wait would seem to have been worth it. . . . McKernan shows himself to be a diligent and impartial scholar. . . . [Urban’s ] accomplishments and his philosophy have found an excellent channel in McKernan.' (Eric J. Iannelli, Times Literary Supplement, November 8, 2013)‘This is a fine and much needed book, and deserves to have a wide readership. It tells the story of Charles Urban, an important pioneer of both non-fiction and colour films, and also has much to say about the silent cinema and documentary film in general.'‘McKernan steers us through with a sure hand, writing concisely and engagingly'‘Exeter have done their usual quality job, so this is built to last. Undoubtedly, the volume deserves to be on the shelves of every cinémathèque and research library in the world.’ (Stephen Bottomore, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 34.2, 2014)

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsNoteIntroduction1. ‘That Slick Salesman in the Silk Hat’2. We Put the World Before You3. The Eighth Wonder of the World4. The Motion Picture Object Lesson for America5. The Living Book of KnowledgeConclusionNotesSelect BibliographyIndex

Luke McKernan is a film historian and Lead Curator of Moving Image at the British Library. He has written widely on early film for a number of academic journals and also curates a web resource on Charles Urban at www.charlesurban.com

Reviews of the hardback edition:‘Luke McKernan’s fascinating new book…’‘Luke McKernan has written a scholarly, important book on a little-known pioneer in the early documentary movement. It deserves to be widely read.’(History Today, January 2014)'It has taken Urban’s champion the better part of a century to arrive. The wait would seem to have been worth it. . . . McKernan shows himself to be a diligent and impartial scholar. . . . [Urban’s ] accomplishments and his philosophy have found an excellent channel in McKernan.' (Eric J. Iannelli, Times Literary Supplement, November 8, 2013)‘This is a fine and much needed book, and deserves to have a wide readership. It tells the story of Charles Urban, an important pioneer of both non-fiction and colour films, and also has much to say about the silent cinema and documentary film in general.'‘McKernan steers us through with a sure hand, writing concisely and engagingly'‘Exeter have done their usual quality job, so this is built to last. Undoubtedly, the volume deserves to be on the shelves of every cinémathèque and research library in the world.’ (Stephen Bottomore, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 34.2, 2014)

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsNoteIntroduction1. ‘That Slick Salesman in the Silk Hat’2. We Put the World Before You3. The Eighth Wonder of the World4. The Motion Picture Object Lesson for America5. The Living Book of KnowledgeConclusionNotesSelect BibliographyIndex

Luke McKernan is a film historian and Lead Curator of Moving Image at the British Library. He has written widely on early film for a number of academic journals and also curates a web resource on Charles Urban at www.charlesurban.com

Reviews of the hardback edition:‘Luke McKernan’s fascinating new book…’‘Luke McKernan has written a scholarly, important book on a little-known pioneer in the early documentary movement. It deserves to be widely read.’(History Today, January 2014)'It has taken Urban’s champion the better part of a century to arrive. The wait would seem to have been worth it. . . . McKernan shows himself to be a diligent and impartial scholar. . . . [Urban’s ] accomplishments and his philosophy have found an excellent channel in McKernan.' (Eric J. Iannelli, Times Literary Supplement, November 8, 2013)‘This is a fine and much needed book, and deserves to have a wide readership. It tells the story of Charles Urban, an important pioneer of both non-fiction and colour films, and also has much to say about the silent cinema and documentary film in general.'‘McKernan steers us through with a sure hand, writing concisely and engagingly'‘Exeter have done their usual quality job, so this is built to last. Undoubtedly, the volume deserves to be on the shelves of every cinémathèque and research library in the world.’ (Stephen Bottomore, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 34.2, 2014)

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsNoteIntroduction1. ‘That Slick Salesman in the Silk Hat’2. We Put the World Before You3. The Eighth Wonder of the World4. The Motion Picture Object Lesson for America5. The Living Book of KnowledgeConclusionNotesSelect BibliographyIndex