Open Letter from a Television Viewer

Upper corner of front cover shows a fold mark; binding and pages solid, tight and unmarked. Includes Robert Montgomery's obituary from the New York Times under pastedown, which left a slight shadow on flyleaf. From J.H. Heineman's "Open Letter" series, which was, according to the Foreword, "...conceived and developed as the platform for an international assembly of prominent people and established writers to discuss, dissect and delve into contemporary ideas and mores." And: "Each letter is a personal polemic in which the author appeals to the mind rather than to the emotions; and chides with the épée rather than bludgeons with the hammer." The best summary of the work comes from Robert Montgomery's own Foreword: "This is an ill-tempered book, but not, I hope, one the reader will think merely polemic. The anger which inspires it is not an end in itself. It is intended to awaken in the television viewer some conception of the dangers inherent in the free-wheeling oligopoly which dominates the mass entertainment and information given to us nearly twenty-four hours a day by network television. I am especially angry and concerned about the threat this oligopoly holds for a free society." Mass media have changed radically since since the heyday of the Big Three television networks but with the passing of the oligopoly, many of Mr. Montgomery's concerns are more urgent than ever. It is also instructive to understand the formative antecedents of today's visual mass media. Inscribed by Robert Montgomery to "Margaret and Kenneth [Setton] - with my love - Robert Montgomery 1969." (Kenneth M. Setton [1914 - 1995] was a distinguished medievalist at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, and a friend of the Montgomerys.) Robert Montgomery (1904 – 1981) was an American film and television star, director, producer, father of actress Elizabeth Montgomery, first president of the Screen Actors' Guild, Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy and Presidential Advisor to President Eisenhower. Apart from his skill as an actor, he was known for his wit and intelligence.