-The first magnetic recording device was demonstrated and patented by the Danish inventor Valdemar Poulsen in 1898. Poulsen made a magnetic recording of his voice on a length of piano wire. MAGNETIC RECORDING traces the development of the watershed products and the technical breakthroughs in magnetic recording that took place during the century from Paulsen's experiment to today's ubiquitous audio, video, and data recording technologies including tape recorders, video cassette recorders, and computer hard drives.

An international author team brings a unique perspective, drawn...