The b&w photos are mostly stills from the films. Walker was the film critic for the London Evening Standard and this book has been called "the standard work on this period in film history". Mr. Walker recounts the Big Broadcast of 1928 when VCharlie Chaplin, John Barrymore, Gloria Swanson, Norma Talmadge, and Delores Del Rio tested their voices on a nationally broadcast radio program.Expertly re-creating the atmosphere of the silent-to-sound transition, Mr. Walker examines audience reaction to the talkies and shows how quickly the novelty wore off.