Customer Reviews

Communication and Empire: Media, Markets, and Globalization, 1860–1930 (American Encounters/Global Interactions)

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Although this substantial book is published in the "American Encounters" series of Duke University Press, it is in fact a detailed and almost global account of the role of electronic communications (telegraph, cable, and radio-telegraph) between 1860 and 1930; and of the power of the private companies which ran these communications. It shows that there is nothing new under the sun in international corporate activities: western corporations engaging in cartels, price fixing and exploitation in such regions as Latin America and China. Then, too, just as we talk about "universal access" to the Internet, there were many reformers who sought to regulate communication prices and make telegraph and cable accessible to the average person. (Many of these individuals were, incidentally, Canadians.) Thus "Communication and Empire" strikes a major chord for the contemporary reader.

The book is not an easy read -- lots of detail -- but well worth the effort for social scientists and communication scholars. Do not ignore the footnotes which often explain the social and economic impact of technological advances in electronic communications -- something which some of the reviews of this book, which I have read, seem to have ignored. I highly recommend it, and should note that the paperback edition is reasonably priced, especially considering the quality of the print and illustrations. Stephen Harold Riggins.