Hi-fi: From Edison's phonograph to quadraphonic sound

by William E. Butterworth III

Discusses the technical evolution of sound reproduction equipment and the people responsible for the various developments.

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

William Edmund Butterworth III is a writer of military and detective fiction with over a hundred (and counting) books published under multiple names.

Pseudonyms include:
Alex Baldwin
Webb Beech
Walter E. Blake
W.E. Butterworth
Jack Dugan
John Kevin Dugan
W.E.B. Griffin
Eden Hughes
Blakely St. James (with Charles Platt and Hart Williams)
Edmund O. Scholefield
Patrick J. Williams

William E. Butterworth was born on November 10, 1929 in Newark, New Jersey.
Mr. Butterworth enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private in 1946 and underwent counterintelligence training at Fort Holabird. After assignment to the Army of Occupation in Germany where he served on the staff of the Commander of the U.S. Constabulary, Major General I.D. White, Butterworth left the service in 1947, but rejoined and again served with White from 1951 to 1953 in Korea. After leaving the service for the second time, Butterworth remained in Korea as a combat correspondent. He was later appointed chief of the publications division of the Signal Aviation Test and Support Activity at the Army Aviation Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama.
At first, Butterworth wrote fiction for young adults and romances. He has written more than 125 books, many of them military thrillers or police dramas. Butterworth received the Alabama Author's Award in 1982 from the Alabama Library Association.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some decent details about early litigation and patent issues among Edison and other early players, but the rest is well known and available in better overall books. The author's detailed knowledge of recorded sound history seems to end with the beginning of magnetic tape and from there the book sort of glosses over the history.

Interesting second section of the book where the author gives his opinions on hi-fi equipment of the day (late 1970s) as well as some useful calibration information for some equipment.

[Kevin Furr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice history of the evolution of audio technology up to the mid-1970s, by W.E. Butterworth, aka W.E.B. Griffin.