Danger Sound Klaxon!

Matthew F. Jordan is Associate Professor of Communications at the Pennsylvania State University.

Jordan highlights the role of the klaxon in a diverse range of historical developments in the early twentieth century, notably the disruptive arrival of the automobile, the emergence of modern traffic and noise regulation, the histories of technocracy and techno-optimism, innovations in advertising, the contested process of Americanization in Europe, and the cultural trauma experienced after World War I. . . [It] is a compelling case study of the interplay between culture, markets, and technology. With its many reproductions of klaxon advertisements, the book is also visually engaging. Above all, it is a captivating read, detailed yet accessible, and resonant in our current cultural moment in which we continue the modern tradition of elevating quick technological fixes over more systemic changes to our ways of life. -- "H-Sci-Med-Tech" A highly original study that shows how what we hear is framed by complex cultural and symbolic registers. It cuts across many different subject areas encompassing cultural studies, communications theory, the social history of technology, urban history, the history of auto-mobility, and the history of advertising to make a significant contribution to its cross-disciplinary field. --Rudy J. Koshar, University of Wisconsin, author of German Travel Cultures A welcomed and original contribution to the growing field of sound studies, Danger Sound Klaxon! shows convincingly that our modern sound perception is learned and highly culturally encoded. Jordan writes in an engaging, clear and readable style. --Stefan Krebs, Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH), co-author of Sound and Safe: A History of Listening Behind the Wheel