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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
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It's crazy to think that without the invention of the telegraph we may not have ever had the telephone or internet as we do today. There was even some 'coding' done back in these times. If you are at all interested in technology I would pick up this book. It is also filled with little anecdotes about people's reactions to the telegraph and their messages which make it a fun and quick read.
Fun book, learned lots of surprising fun facts! Strong argument but I would have appreciated deeper (or any) analysis of the implications of capitalism for this topic, and related analyses of nationalism, labor, imperialism etc
Who knew that a combination of dashes, dots, and wires could have such a scandalous origin story? An entertaining and educational read.
I learned so much about the telegraph reading this book! The science of the invention was a bit dry to read about but the social and cultural impact of the invention was super interesting.
Enjoyable history of the telegraph, how it was developed, grew, and faded away. The title refers, mainly, to the friendships that grew among telegraphers who got to know each other while transmitting messages, and also to the revolution in communications that was really started by the telegraph. The author pushes this metaphor a bit much in the last several chapters and afterword, though; he should have let the story stand on its own.
The telegraph's invention, adoption, improvements and swift decline really makes you compare to the internet's trajectory. I really liked being introduced to all the inventors, however farcical some of them were. I liked the juicy tidbits on Edison's contributions.. Good succinct informative read.
informative
medium-paced
a really interesting read!! you would think it’d be boring because it’s just about the telegraph, but the author tells it in a way that keeps you engaged throughout. I really liked it! :-)
So, this is a fairly dull and easy to read history of the telegraph. The earlier chapters are certainly the most interesting, but it very much glosses over electric theory of the time, and how inventors found out more about electricity.
This was heading to a solid 3 stars. And then I got to the last chapter--The Legacy of the Telegraph. He tries to force the "Victorian Internet" a little too hard. Sure codes were used on the telegraph and on the internet. But weren't they used by homing pigeon as well? The telegraph was not the beginning of industrialization or long-distance or wartime communication, and that gets shoved to back burner by the time the last chapter rolls around. He was doing just fine up to that point.
This was heading to a solid 3 stars. And then I got to the last chapter--The Legacy of the Telegraph. He tries to force the "Victorian Internet" a little too hard. Sure codes were used on the telegraph and on the internet. But weren't they used by homing pigeon as well? The telegraph was not the beginning of industrialization or long-distance or wartime communication, and that gets shoved to back burner by the time the last chapter rolls around. He was doing just fine up to that point.