Cellphone: The Story of the World's Most Mobile Medium and How It Has Transformed Everything! [Hardcover]

Paul Levinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2004 | ISBN-10: 1403960410 | ISBN-13: 978-1403960412 | Edition: 1st

Although the Internet takes us everywhere in cyberspace, it usually requires us to be seated behind a desk. In contrast, the cellphone lets us walk through the world, fully connected. Cellphone explores the history of mobility in media--from books to cameras to transistor radios to laptops--and examines the unique impact of a device that sits in a pocket or palm, and lets us converse by voice or text. The restricting and liberating edge of accessibility transforms restaurants, public transport, automobiles, romance, literacy, parent-child relationships, war, and indeed all walks of life, trivial and profound. Like an organic cell that moves, evolves, combines with other cells, and generates, the cellphone has become a complex sparkplug of human life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Levinson maintains a sense of humor about the rush to pack every imaginable function into cells." --Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer

"a thought-provoking analysis" --British MediaWeek

"an excellent case" --Douglas Rushkoff, TheFeature.com

"A superb and often amusing account of one of the greatest revolutions in human history, in which we are now living. The wristwatch phone of the old science fiction stories is now a reality! What more can we expect? Direct brain to brain communication? Stay tuned...."--Sir Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

From the Inside Flap

"A superb and often amusing account of one of the greatest revolutions in human history, in which we are now living. The wristwatch phone of the old science fiction stories is now a reality! What more can we expect? Direct brain to brain communication? Stay tuned...."--Sir Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (April 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403960410
• ISBN-13: 978-1403960412
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,791,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My novel The Silk Code won the 2000 Locus Award for Best First Novel. I've since published Borrowed Tides (2001),The Consciousness Plague (2002), and The Pixel Eye (2003). The Plot To Save Socrates published in 2006 - Entertainment Weekly called it "challenging fun". My science fiction and mystery short stories have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards. Nine nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997), Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003), Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009) have been the subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, and have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, and eight other languages. I appear from time to time on "The O'Reilly Factor," "The CBS Evening News," "Nightline," "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," and other TV and radio programs - I like talking just as much as writing. I'm also a songwriter, and have been in several bands over the years - one had two records out on Atlantic Records in 1960s. My 1972 album Twice Upon a Rhyme (on HappySad Records) was re-issued on CD by Beatball/Big Pink Records in 2009, and on re-pressed vinyl by Whiplash/Sound of Salvation Records in 2010. I was listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education's "Top 10 Academic Twitterers" in 2009. And last but not least: I'm Professor of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear, concise examination of cellphones in society., September 25, 2006

By 

C. Taylor (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cellphone: The Story of the World's Most Mobile Medium and How It Has Transformed Everything! (Hardcover)

A clear and approachable historical study of the impact of cellphones on society and culture, Levinson's text is an strong contribution to an emerging field of research. Although it is in some respects, tainted by the author's personal status, this also allows him to use his real world examples to paint a clear picture of what it is like to live in a world where you can always make contact with others, but can also always be contacted.

This is not to suggest that the text is in any way deficient in theory or research, which is woven carefully throughout the text, accompanied by an annotated and accessible Bibliography. At times it would have been helpful for referencing to be in-text, although his does digress where appropriate and helpful in-text. Levinson's strongest appeal is that we need to consider cultural relations around cellphone use (such as accepting the desire to ignore incoming calls) and not just legislate around them. This is an important point to consider, in societies where camera and video phones can be carried and used almost anywhere, provoking not just a degree of freedom, but public and private fears around invasions of privacy.

Thoroughly readable and filled with some wonderful imagry and creative language, Levinson's "Cellphone" is an important contribution in a time when technology is increasingly mobilising throughout our lives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Levinson is a McLuhan for the 21st Century, January 26, 2006

By 

Robert J. Sawyer "Science Fiction writer" (Mississauga, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cellphone: The Story of the World's Most Mobile Medium and How It Has Transformed Everything! (Hardcover)

A comprehensive look at the jangling god that rules our lives. Levinson knows exactly what he's talking about, and his insights ring true (if you'll forgive the pun). There's a reason CNN, the Wall Steet Journal, and the New York Times keep turning to this guy for commentary. Anybody who's reading Stephen King's new novel CELL will find this a fascinating companion volume. About the only complaint I have is that this book deserved a much better cover.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very easy read, August 20, 2008

By 

Krystof Pilisiewicz - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cellphone: The Story of the World's Most Mobile Medium and How It Has Transformed Everything! (Hardcover)

I read this book and I find it very useful. I love how author easily transfer his thoughts on paper. it`s very easy to read and when you read it you remember it. I think this is a good book for your home library if you interested in the topic. I also recommended going to yodaphone.com for additional info on cell phone ratings