The Cable: The Wire That Changed the World (Revealing History) [Hardcover]

Gillian Cookson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Revealing History | Publication Date: September 1, 2003

This is the compelling story of how the first transatlantic cable was laid—the people who dared, the people who lost, and the people who profited. It tells of the dramatic attempts to cross the Atlantic during the 1850s and 1860s, from the first failed attempts to the project that finally succeeded. An inconceivably audacious attempt to overcome the forces of nature in the name of human progress and technology, the laying of the cable was to change forever our means of communication. The speed with which information could now be transmitted was unprecedented and revolutionized the face of news and the global economy.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

An import from Britain, Cookson's account of the first transatlantic telegraph is more phlegmatic, and perhaps less dramatized, than historian John Steele Gordon's A Thread across the Ocean (2002). Whenever the cable laying goes awry, Cookson notes the fact, whereas Gordon shades the event with the heave of the ship or the snap of the parting cable. But in its quiet manner, Cookson's effort is just as appealing a saga. Assigning credit for the ultimate success in 1866 is one of her narrative's organizing principles; another is the financing of the endeavor. A chance encounter in a New York hotel lobby set it in motion in 1854, when a Newfoundlander telegraph engineer (Frederic Gisborne) was put in touch with a rich paper manufacturer (Cyrus Field) seeking a new world to conquer. Field persuaded fellow financiers to put up the cash, but they ran out of money by 1858 and yielded the project to British interests--though Field was an ever-present proselytizer. Handsome illustrations add value to Cookson's exposition on a popular topic. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Handsome illustrations add value to Cookson's exposition on a popular topic.” -- Booklist

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Tempus; First Edition edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752423665
• ISBN-13: 978-0752423661
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched story of the Atlantic Cable, October 7, 2003

By 

Bill B "CableGuy" (Long Island, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cable: The Wire That Changed the World (Revealing History) (Hardcover)

The Atlantic Cable, one of the great engineering feats of the Victorian era, is often thought of as an American project. While it's true that the impetus came from New York merchant Cyrus Field, and Field remained a constant force behind the cable for the 12 years it took for it to succeed, the engineering, manufacture, and laying of the cable were, for the most part, conducted by British companies. It's curious, then, that most histories of the cable have been written by Americans.

Gill Cookson, a British historian and researcher who has previously written articles on submarine telegraphy, as well as the definitive biography of cable engineer Fleeming Jenkin, is well-qualified to redress this balance with her new book, The Cable. Published in time for the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the project, The Cable tells the story of the Atlantic Cable, from the first vague proposals in the 1840s, through the pioneering days of the 1850s, to the eventual success of the 1860s. Written for a general audience, the book is a lively narrative of the failures and frustrations, the agonizing delays caused by financial, political, and technical problems, and the ultimate success of 1866, establishing the communications link between the Americas and Europe which by gradual evolution became today's fiber optic network circling the world.

As well as being a readable and entertaining history of the events, the book puts into context the development of materials, equipment, and cable-laying technique, the British and American financial and political climates which influenced the laying of the cable, and the persistence of Cyrus Field in seeing the project to its conclusion. With numerous black and white illustrations, and a full-color 32-page section of reproductions of early drawings and photographs of cable manufacture and laying, The Cable is perhaps the best view so far of this "audacious endeavour".