The king of all media? Lee de Forest was there before Howard Stern.

A new book explores his life and legacy.

“Lee de Forest, King of Radio, Television, and Film” is published by Springer Science. The author is Mike Adams, professor of radio, television and film at San Jose State University, who has created documentaries about broadcasting for PBS and written in Radio World and elsewhere about Charles Herrold, “inventor of radio broadcasting.”

The book tells the story of de Forest’s life and inventions, and explores the question of why he didn’t receive the recognition he sought until much later.

Adams says de Forest “supplied the missing voice to radio and film.” His publisher says the book is “about the process of invention — how inventors really get ideas and how every inventor learns that they must know the work of those who came before, and why the myth of the lone inventor and the ‘Aha! Moment’ is largely a fiction.”

Related:
Radio's Real Founding Father (2003 commentary about Charles Herrold by Mike Adams)