This book introduces the history of the invention of radios, including its roots in the telegraph and the telephone, the contributions of Michael Faraday, Joseph Henry, James Clerk Maxwell, Heinrich Hertz, Nikola Tesla, Guglielmo Marconi, and Reginald A. Fessenden, as well as Morse code, induction theory, electromagnetic waves, the first transatlantic radio transmission, the first spoken radio messages, and radio communication with astronauts in space. Other chapters delve into the parts and systems that make radio technology possible from transmission to reception, including program signals, antennas, and speakers, as well as amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), and wave bands. Other sections cover different kinds of radios, including Ham, shortwave, digital, and satellite radio, and the disc jockeys (DJs), producers, sound engineers, radio tower repairers, and professional installers who work with them. Fun facts discuss Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, and Samuel F.B. Morse’s induction into the Inventors Hall of Fame, Woodrow Wilson as the first president to talk over the radio, and the significance of radio call sign letters. Full-color photographs, informative diagrams, glossary words in bold, a graphic timeline, and an index enhance engaging, easy-to-read text about radios, an everyday invention that has influenced wireless communication from walkie-talkies to text messages. Checkerboard Library is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.