A review by thisgrrlreads
Spooked!: How a Radio Broadcast and the War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America by Gail Jarrow

2.0

I love Gail Jarrow's books. I've always been fascinated with the War of Worlds broadcast and the reaction it provoked at the time. But unfortunately, you have to be fascinated with this broadcast to understand the book the way it's set up--or at least you have to know that the invasion that is set up in the beginning is not real. Because otherwise, it doesn't make sense that we go and take an in-depth look at performers and radio producers. What does that have to do with a real invasion of America?

If you skip Chapter One, this book improves quite a bit! I loved reading the notes from people after the broadcast, learning what happened when this broadcast was done at other times in other countries and how the studies done at the time about reactions were biased. There are some really great parts to this book, I just wish it gave a better introduction for people who didn't come in knowing the backstory.