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122 reviews for:
Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR
Lisa Napoli
3.77 AVERAGE
122 reviews for:
Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR
Lisa Napoli
3.77 AVERAGE
This was such a a fun read! Loved learning about these ladies
Quite a feel-good read.
I will say that there were some sections that I found much less interesting and that they sometimes took the place of what I actually would have cared about. And also there were way too many uses of the word "pithy" (personal preference).
Otherwise, I felt completely immersed and wanted to be BFFs with Susan Stamberg. The author slipped in so many fun and tender details, and as a big fan of both American history and NPR, I was getting emotional at some parts. Highlights include:
-use of the word schadenfreude
-Mr. Rogers convincing Susan to come on the show AS Daniel Tiger lolololol
-vibey stories about kids falling in love with radio in the 1940s
I will say that there were some sections that I found much less interesting and that they sometimes took the place of what I actually would have cared about. And also there were way too many uses of the word "pithy" (personal preference).
Otherwise, I felt completely immersed and wanted to be BFFs with Susan Stamberg. The author slipped in so many fun and tender details, and as a big fan of both American history and NPR, I was getting emotional at some parts. Highlights include:
-use of the word schadenfreude
-Mr. Rogers convincing Susan to come on the show AS Daniel Tiger lolololol
-vibey stories about kids falling in love with radio in the 1940s
57/70 forMama in 2021
I think if I had read this in an earlier moment of my own life and in the history of the world, I would have felt more impressed by and connected to the women and their stories. However, at this juncture in my life and the current moment in history, I found it difficult to relate to and unequivocally admire incredibly privileged and well-connected white women who, while they unquestionably worked hard and faced down many challenges and barriers related to gender, never acknowledged the significant roles that their privileges in race and class and connections afforded them. Perhaps that was a failing of Napoli, the author, or perhaps it was just typical of white- and class-privileged people’s inability to recognize and acknowledge those aspects of their successes, instead using the euphemism of “luck” to explain those ways big and small that paved the way for them.
I think if I had read this in an earlier moment of my own life and in the history of the world, I would have felt more impressed by and connected to the women and their stories. However, at this juncture in my life and the current moment in history, I found it difficult to relate to and unequivocally admire incredibly privileged and well-connected white women who, while they unquestionably worked hard and faced down many challenges and barriers related to gender, never acknowledged the significant roles that their privileges in race and class and connections afforded them. Perhaps that was a failing of Napoli, the author, or perhaps it was just typical of white- and class-privileged people’s inability to recognize and acknowledge those aspects of their successes, instead using the euphemism of “luck” to explain those ways big and small that paved the way for them.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I’ve started listening to NPR more and more, so this book interested me, and it did not disappoint. I reckoned this book to any NPR listener or anyone interested in the history of media.
I very much enjoyed this history of NPR and the four "founding mothers." I found the book very well-written and will look for other titles by Lisa Napoli. Napoli provided many details about the lives and families of the four women, along with their professional struggles in a male-dominated profession. I like that she also gave many audio and video references, some of which I plan to look at further.
As a long-standing NPR consumer, I really wanted to love this book, but it never quite won me over. It is a good story, just not an exceptional read. The lives depicted are exceptional, and the history of the organization is exceptional, but the execution of the narrative left me wanting and struggling to stay interested. If you are starved for info on the Founding Mothers or the history of NPR, pick this one up, but if you are only passingly interested in the subject matter then you should pass this one by.
I was expecting to learn about the four "founding mothers" of NPR, who are all fascinating trailblazers, but I was not expecting to learn so much about the origins of public radio and NPR, as well as the dismal state of women in journalism in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Very interesting for fans of NPR.
4.5 stars - Amazing women. Who they are and how they became the founding mothers of NPR. Good reminders of the challenges for women and how these four overcame them to become ground breakers and opened the door for others. Well written.