The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
The eight-track cartridge tape system was devised by William Powell Lear, the founder of the LearJet corporation, in the 1960s. Lear's invention is similar to its predecessor, the four-track tape. The main difference is that the eight-track tape is divided into eight channels, or tracks, where the four-track is divided into only four. Doubling the number of tracks doubled the amount of playing time on the tape, from about 40 minutes to about one hour and 20 minutes. The narrower channels of the eight-track tape, however, sometimes resulted in one track "bleeding" into another so that strains of one track could be heard over another. The eight-track tape was a popular audio format from the mid-1960s through the early 1980s, when their popularity finally almost completely gave way to audiocasette tapes and vinyl Lp records.