Reviews - The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-Line Pioneers

108 reviews for:

The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-Line Pioneers

Tom Standage

3.85 AVERAGE

aleximenez's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

A fun, but too short book. I was desperate for more info on discovering the huge similarities between the Internet and telegraphing -- 150 years apart, noticed by reading about Edison and Carnegie who both began their careers as telegraph operators.

luisbrudna's review against another edition

5.0

Recomendo. O livro não é necessariamente sobre a relação entre o telégrafo e a internet; as comparações feitas neste sentido aparecem apenas no início e fim da obra.
O restante é sobre a história do desenvolvimento do telégrafo e das mudanças econômicas, sociais e militares que a tecnologia causou durante toda a sua existência.
Na comparação com a internet é divertido ver a semelhança entre os discursos otimistas e pessimistas.

electric_llama's review against another edition

4.0

This book is very interesting. Unlike, say, the telephone, I don't think most people think very much about the telegraph, because it's not used anymore. But it brought about a revolution in worldwide communications. Before the invention of the telegraph, information could travel no faster than a horse or ship, but after the telegraph news could travel hundreds of miles in minutes, which had wide-reaching consequences for society.
The comparison of the telegraph to the internet is apt, and the book mentions many interesting parallels with the internet. People talked in code, developed friendships and romances, and committed crimes with the use of this new technology.

lanabug711's review against another edition

2.0

Dry as dirt and not very interesting. Who knew the history of the telegraph was so boring? I bought this as a supplement for my daughter's American History class and later decided to skip it. She would have hated it.