The purpose of this book is to provide concise biographical information about 400 notable blind persons. The people in this volume are but a small sample of many thousands of notable blind persons in history. Most of the information about their lives comes from secondary sources. Where feasible, some of the subject's own words were used.

Marshaling two decades' worth of painstaking research, Paul Longmore's book provides the first cultural history of the telethon, charting its rise and profiling the key figures--philanthropists, politicians, celebrities, corporate sponsors, and recipients--involved.