A Voice in the Box; My Life in Radio

Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 2011. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. viii, [2], 214 pages. Index. Author inscription facing the title page. Inscription reads For Nelson Thanks for Listening Bob Edwards. Decorative bookplate of previous owner on fep. Robert Alan Edwards is an American broadcast journalist, a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He hosted both of National Public Radio's flagship news programs, the afternoon All Things Considered, and Morning Edition, where he was the first and longest serving host in the latter program's history. Starting in 2004, Edwards then was the host of The Bob Edwards Show on Sirius XM Radio and Bob Edwards Weekend distributed by Public Radio International to more than 150 public radio stations. Edwards hosted NPR's program, Morning Edition, from the show's inception in 1979 until 2004. After 24 plus years with Edwards as host, Arbitron ratings showed that, with 13 million listeners, it was the second highest-rated radio broadcast in the country, behind only Rush Limbaugh's AM show. Prior to his departure, he was very popular among both listeners and critics. Morning Edition and its host won a George Foster Peabody Award in 1999. It is estimated that Edwards conducted over 20,000 interviews for NPR. His call-in chats with retired sportscaster Red Barber are fondly remembered. Barber would call Edwards "Colonel Bob," referring to Edwards' Kentucky Colonel honor from his native state. Barber died in 1992; the following year Edwards based his book, Fridays with Red: A Radio Friendship, on the weekly interviews. In 2003, Edwards was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. The host of The Bob Edwards Show and Bob Edwards Weekend on Sirius XM Radio, Bob Edwards became the first radio personality with a large national audience to take his chances in the new field of satellite radio. The programs' mix of long-form interviews and news documentaries has won many prestigious awards. For thirty years, Louisville native Edwards was the voice of National Public Radio's daily newsmagazine programs, co-hosting All Things Considered before launching Morning Edition in 1979. These programs built NPR's national audience while also bringing Edwards to national prominence. In 2004, however, NPR announced that it would be finding a replacement for Edwards, inciting protests from tens of thousands of his fans and controversy among his listeners and fellow broadcasters. Today, Edwards continues to inform the American public with a voice known for its sincerity, intelligence, and wit. In A Voice in the Box: My Life in Radio, Edwards recounts his career as one of the most important figures in modern broadcasting. He describes his road to success on the radio waves, from his early days knocking on station doors during college and working for American Forces Korea Network to his work at NPR and induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2004. Edwards tells the story of his exit from NPR and the launch of his new radio ventures on the XM Satellite Radio network. Throughout the book, his sharp observations about the people he interviewed and covered and the colleagues with whom he worked offer a window on forty years of American news and on the evolution of public journalism. A Voice in the Box is an insider's account of the world of American media and a fascinating, personal narrative from one of the most iconic personalities in radio history.