"The heart of the book is a detailed, year-by-year account of the shortwave bands in each year from 1945 to 2008. It reviews what American listeners were hearing on the international and domestic shortwave bands, describes the arrivals and departures of stations, and recounts important events. The book describes the several categories of broadcasters - international, domestic, private, religious, clandestine and pirate. It explains the impact of relay stations, frequency management, and jamming. It also addresses the considerable changes in shortwave broadcasting since the end of the Cold War." (Publisher description)