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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
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
The story of the rise and fall of the telegraph, and the communication revolution it spawned, is well-told, and foretold a lot about the social impact of the Internet.
The telegraph had a significant impact on the life of Edison (who began his career as a telegraph messenger boy,) and the invention of the telephone.
I believe this book is absolutely required reading for anyone interested in the Steampunk genre, because the truth is stranger than fiction. The laying of the transatlantic cable reads like a Jules Verne story.
It loses a star because it didn't go far enough. This could have been a longer and more satisfying book. The telegraph's importance during the American Civil war was only briefly touched. The telegram's cultural impact during the 20th Century was barely touched.
The telegraph had a significant impact on the life of Edison (who began his career as a telegraph messenger boy,) and the invention of the telephone.
I believe this book is absolutely required reading for anyone interested in the Steampunk genre, because the truth is stranger than fiction. The laying of the transatlantic cable reads like a Jules Verne story.
It loses a star because it didn't go far enough. This could have been a longer and more satisfying book. The telegraph's importance during the American Civil war was only briefly touched. The telegram's cultural impact during the 20th Century was barely touched.
I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book, but it turned out to be a facinating look back at the telegraph, its operators, and how they changed the world. Standage's writing style is like a novel and he keeps the pace moving. I recommend all his books. -- Kelly H.--
For centuries people communicated across distances only as quickly as the fastest ship or horse could travel. Generations of innovators tried and failed to develop speedier messaging devices. But in the mid-1800s, a few extraordinary pioneers at last succeeded. Their invention--the electric telegraph--shrank the world more quickly than ever before.
A colorful tale of scientific discovery and technological cunning, The Victorian Internet tells the story of the telegraph's creation and remarkable impact, and of the visionaries, oddballs, and eccentrics who pioneered it. By 1865 telegraph cables spanned continents and oceans, revolutionizing the ways countries dealt with one another. The telegraph gave rise to creative business practices and new forms of crime. Romances blossomed over the wires. Secret codes were devised by some users, and cracked by others. The benefits of the network were relentlessly hyped by its advocates and dismissed by its skeptics. And attitudes toward everything from news gathering to war had to be completely rethought.
The telegraph unleashed the greatest revolution in communications since the development of the printing press. Its saga offers many parallels to that of the Internet in our own time--and is a fascinating episode in the history of technology.
A colorful tale of scientific discovery and technological cunning, The Victorian Internet tells the story of the telegraph's creation and remarkable impact, and of the visionaries, oddballs, and eccentrics who pioneered it. By 1865 telegraph cables spanned continents and oceans, revolutionizing the ways countries dealt with one another. The telegraph gave rise to creative business practices and new forms of crime. Romances blossomed over the wires. Secret codes were devised by some users, and cracked by others. The benefits of the network were relentlessly hyped by its advocates and dismissed by its skeptics. And attitudes toward everything from news gathering to war had to be completely rethought.
The telegraph unleashed the greatest revolution in communications since the development of the printing press. Its saga offers many parallels to that of the Internet in our own time--and is a fascinating episode in the history of technology.
Entertaining book, lots of interesting trivia, but not an "in-depth" look at the telegraph system as it operated (such a book would occupy several volumes). The author looks primarily at the French, English and American systems, noting differences between the two and major players.
The author does not smack you in the face with the comparisons to today's system (there is no "SEE! THIS IS JUST LIKE A CHAT ROOM!"), but rather lays them out and lets the reader have their a-ha moments.
When it comes to data transmission methods and governance, there actually are more similarities between the telegraph and internet than between the telephone and internet. That part, for me, was the most interesting. And indeed, the ITU, which still governs some parts of international internet routing rules, started as the "International Telegraph Union," updating its job responsibilities as the internet came into wide use. Neat trivia.
This is more entertainment and trivia than education, and that is just fine. I enjoyed the book very much.
The author does not smack you in the face with the comparisons to today's system (there is no "SEE! THIS IS JUST LIKE A CHAT ROOM!"), but rather lays them out and lets the reader have their a-ha moments.
When it comes to data transmission methods and governance, there actually are more similarities between the telegraph and internet than between the telephone and internet. That part, for me, was the most interesting. And indeed, the ITU, which still governs some parts of international internet routing rules, started as the "International Telegraph Union," updating its job responsibilities as the internet came into wide use. Neat trivia.
This is more entertainment and trivia than education, and that is just fine. I enjoyed the book very much.
Entertaining history of the telegraph and how it changed the world, and not always in the way that optimists hoped for. Interesting perspective, reading from a time when the internet has also revolutionized the planet but has not led to world peace just yet. New mediums of communication will always go through a period of exploitation by bad actors.
Amusing recounting of the emergence of the telegraph in the 19th century, drawing parallels to the emergence of more modern means of communication later. The telegraph was indeed revolutionary for its time and created incredible opportunities for both commerce and fraud.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Always interesting and sometimes thought-provoking. This is a quick, easy read. Good for if you have a passing interest like me, or if you’re looking for an introduction to the subject. No footnotes, but there is a bibliography if you want to read more.
My friend, Rebecca recommended this to me, and it's probably the first nonfiction book I've read in at least a few years. It was great. The basic point is that nothing we invent could have the same impact on communication that the telegraph did. There's a lot of information that compares the telegraph with the internet. There were online romances, skepticism and fear of the telegraph just as these things happen online, now. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the history of communication. I think it's funny that I enjoyed this even though I'm not really interested in history for the most part.
A fun little book about the telegraph, the internet before there was an Internet, and an invention at least as revolutionary as the modern one we all know and love and hate.
Good book, nice read. Fun ideas and a great intro with a soft history of the wired world. I feel let down a bit by the lack of any lasting impression. Wish there was a follow up of some kind that let me really sink my teeth into the subject. I feel like I just had appetizers only.