In 1940, a new invitation to learning was on the air.
Dr. Stringfellow Barr, president of St. John's College at Annapolis, extended the bid to those who would listen to learn Sunday afternoons. Pointing out that for more than 2,000 years Western civilization had drawn sustenance from liberal education, he took to the wave lengths on a coast-to-coast network of more than eighty stations. By exploring classic literature, which gave "culural background to the nation's founders," as Dr. Barr explained, he aimed to strike a new keynote in liberal education through the medium of radio.

In its twenty-four-year span of existence, INVITATION TO LEARNING had acquired a variety of descriptive epithets. M. Lincoln Schuster, lively and peripatetic president of Simon & Schuster, called the CBS program "CQ - Civilization Quotient." Rival broadcasters once good-naturedly labeled it "Columbia's Hour of Silence." An irritated savant charged it with being "Imitation to Learning." A radio columnist described it as "the only program that uses a lorgnette instead of a microphone." South Jersey farmers voted it their favorite Sunday listening.

REVIEWS

"INVITATION TO LEARNING is arguably the most unusual show ever to be presented on
radio. INVITATION TO LEARNING was a half-hour show that was never rehearsed, never
had a sponsor, had very low ratings, and yet enjoyed a twenty-four year run presenting over
1,200 episodes. . . The basic premise was that a group of three or four diverse people would
come together to have a spontaneous discussion about a particular book . . . for 24
years, from 1940 to 1964 this forum continued to bring discussions of great literature to the
radio audience. This books includes a brief history of the show, a discussion of tis' continuing appeal, and a complete episode guide covering all 1,218 shows. Overall, this is a very welcome addition to any OTR collector's library."

- August 2003 issue of RETURN WITH US NOW

"With INVITATION TO LEARNING, Grams focuses his considerable energies on a program that had a long radio life (over 24 years) but probably would not make any OTR fan's list of top 50 shows. More than likely, even an OTR fanatic may never have heard of the show. Grams says as much in his introduction. He contends that all programs contributed to the overall history of OTR and, just because a program didn't have the listener base of say a JACK BENNY or I LOVE A MYSTERY, it still deserves attention and documentation for posterity's sake, if nothing else.

"Grams notes the purpose of the program was to encourage listeners to read, think about and then discuss the classics, particularly those that influenced our founding fathers and the traditions they fostered that help form American intellectual concepts and traditions. This is an interesting treatment for a program that deserves some attention and, if not for the Grams touch, would likely be consigned to the nether world of OTR broadcasts, gone and all but forgotten"

- Charles R. Sexton, THE ILLUSTRATED PRESS, September 2003

LIMITED PRINTING
Unlike any of the other books written by Grams, this book received a limited printing of 500. No more, no less. Each individually numbered on the title page. Once sold out, they will no longer be available.

ORDERING INFORMATION
The Invitation to Learning book retails $14.95.
Postage is $4.00 for the first book and $2.00 per additional book.

Check or Money Order can be made payable to:
Martin Grams, Jr., Po Box 189, Delta, PA 17314

To pay on the web, simply click on the Paypal icon to add this to your Paypal shopping cart and when you're done shopping, simply click the checkout button. If you have an existing Paypal account, simply use Mr. Grams' e-mail address as the Paypal ID when asked who to pay.
mmargrajr@hotmail.com