Book Review: When Women Invented Television
What I love most about reading nonfiction is that I always learn something new. Before reading When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today by pop culture author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, I didn’t know who Gertrude Berg was and her impact on TV sitcoms. I had heard briefly about Irma Philips’s reign in soap operas. I knew that Hazel Scott was a famous pianist, but I didn’t know that she not only had a TV music show but was also the first Black woman to host a primetime show. We all know Betty White for her dry humor and her roles on The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but I didn’t know she was a pioneering talk show host back in the 1950s.
The book follows these legendary women who break the glass TV entertainment ceiling while also navigating racism, sexism, and Cold War politics. This is a highly entertaining and informative read!