Personal Stereo

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. When the Sony Walkman debuted in 1979, people were enthralled by the novel experience it offered: immersion in the music of their choice, anytime, anywhere. But the Walkman was also denounced as self-indulgent and anti-social the quintessential accessory for the me generation. In Personal Stereo, Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow takes us back to the birth of the device, exploring legal battles over credit for its invention; its ambivalent reception in 1980s America; and its lasting effects on social norms and public space. Ranging from postwar Japan to the present, Tuhus-Dubrow weaves history, cultural criticism, and her own memories into a revealing story that allows us to see our current technology-saturated moment afresh.