The Transformation of Cinema, 1907-1915 (History of the American Cinema)
"A superb and nuanced analysis of the historical context in which films  were made, exhibited, and received. . . . Changing narrative forms, acting  styles, camera angles, and editing techniques are analyzed in a highly  comprehensible manner."  --Stephen J. Ross, American Historical Review"Impeccable scholarship. . . . [Bowser] answers a great many questions  about how film began to define what is now called its language."  --Jeanine  Basinger, New York Times Book Review"There is no equivalent to these books.. . . When Eileen Bowser says  that the term 'movie star' was first applied to Florence Turner, the Vitagraph  actress, in 1910, you can trust her as you never could trust the journalistic  chroniclers of the movies who relied on second-hand sources or memory."  --Kevin  Lewis, Film Culture