Media Mass-ness. Review of "Media and Society in the Twentieth Century: A Historical Introduction" by Lyn Gorman and David McLean. [review]

Lyn Gorman and David McLean's book is a valuable contribution, and one that Flew hopes will be widely adopted in media and communications courses. While it has the narrative account common to the mass communication histories - with chapters focused on a medium such as print or film, or the emergence of a new media industry such as advertising - the authors present it in a manner that is very much attuned to the social and cultural contexts in which new media forms arose. "Media and Society in the Twentieth Century" was writtenas a text to accompany courses in media history at Charles Sturt University. As such, it has the best attributes of a book targeted at the undergraduate student readership. Its coverage of developments is comprehensive, its treatment is concise, it doesn't get bogged down in side issues, and the authors are always reminding the reader how particular issues connect up to a bigger picture. It also has what Flew considers to be the best attribute of a history book: its availability for repeated referencing.Australia Council, La Trobe University, National Library of Australia, Holding Redlich, Arts Victori