The History of Wireless: How Creative Minds Produced Technology for the Masses [Paperback]

Ira Brodsky (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0980038308 | ISBN-13: 978-0980038309 | Publication Date: January 23, 2008 | Edition: 1st

The History of Wireless reads like a novel. It chronicles the discoveries and inventions that led to today's mass market. Part I covers Volta, Faraday, Maxwell, Lodge, and Hertz--presenting crucial aspects of their work often missed by other biographers. Part II describes the development of the telegraph and telephone and how Marconi, Fessenden, de Forest, and Armstrong made them "wireless." It also covers the birth of radio and TV broadcasting and figures including Sarnoff, Farnsworth, and Zworykin. Part III provides the most comprehensive history of mobile radio, cellular, and digital cellular found in one place. It proceeds to look at emerging technologies and standards such as mobile TV and ambient light-powered color displays. The final chapter reviews the creative process in technology development.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I just put down a book that I had a hard time putting down: The History of Wireless: How Creative Minds Produced Technology for the Masses by Ira Brodsky, KC9TC. Ira's book covers the history of radio communications from the days of spark to today's palm-sized wireless communicators. This book is unlike your typical history book; instead of a dry read, this book is an entertaining read and held my interest to the very end. --Stan Horzepa, Contributing Editor, American Radio Relay League (ARRL.org)

Ira Brodsky tells the fascinating story of how the wireless technology that keeps us all in touch came to be. In this entertaining and authoritative account, he presents for the first time a comprehensive story of the scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs who made it happen. His book is a testimony to the genius and determination of those who accomplished what others said could not be done. --Martin Cooper, leader of the Motorola team that created the first portable cell phone, and Chairman of Arraycomm

The History of Wireless is an impressively researched chronicle of the discoveries and inventions that led to today's ubiquitous wireless environment. It presents facts and insights that even industry veterans will find fascinating. Best of all, Brodsky's lively narrative explores the nature and passion of inventors, scientists and engineers. --Andrew Viterbi, inventor of the Viterbi algorithm and co-founder of Qualcomm

The scope of Ira Brodsky's History of Wireless is very impressive. It is a fount of knowledge and perspective for anyone interested in wireless technology. I learned many interesting details about how wireless evolved to where it is today from this fascinating book. --Jan Uddenfeldt, Senior Vice President, Technology, LM Ericsson

[The History of Wireless] transports you to a front row experience of how the industry grew, each discovery made, each opportunity missed, and how each of the inventors over the past 200+ years through determination and foresight brought us the current day wireless industry. I wish the book was available when I was studying science and electrical engineering in school... The book is effective not only in capturing the history so beautifully but for drawing the lessons from successes and failures of inventors and companies. --Chetan Sharma, Always On Real-Time Access blog

About the Author

Ira Brodsky has been a regular contributor to industry publications including Network World, America's Network, Wireless Review and Telephony. The History of Wireless: How Creative Minds Produced Technology for the Masses is his third book about wireless technology.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Telescope Books; 1st edition (January 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980038308
• ISBN-13: 978-0980038309
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #739,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ira Brodsky writes about individual freedom and creativity in science, business, and history. He founded Datacomm Research, a publisher of reports on emerging technologies and markets, in 1989. During the 1990s, Brodsky produced several trade conferences and consulted for clients in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. Ira Brodsky's columns have appeared in The Daily Caller, American Thinker, and Network World. Brodsky has an Extra Class amateur radio license and blogs at PersonalHealthTechBlog.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read for those who desire to truly innovate, August 22, 2008

By 

L. J. Unruh (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The History of Wireless: How Creative Minds Produced Technology for the Masses (Paperback)

Brodsky offers a wonderful history of wireless in terms of who and why, something that has been lacking in a wireless history book until this publication. Those interested in understanding the personal connections of the individuals involved through the development of this industry will want to read it. Those who are working in the industry or desire to break in as entrepreneurs need to read it. His last section on creativity is wonderfully useful. If you have the guts to truly innovate, or are doing so now in any industry I highly recommend this book. It was obvious the material was well researched (due to the limited information available on some of the individuals involved from a historic perspective, Brodsky did provide sufficient information to get his many points across, somewhat rare in a book that covers 130+ years through the development of an industry). There was only one element that I would have liked to see him expand on a bit more, and that was in the area of convergence. I think a few more pages devoted to the cable and telephone networks along with wireless would have rounded out this section perfectly; but then maybe not, as it potentially could have risked loosing the true focus of wireless.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wireless must read, April 7, 2008

By 

J. Madsen (San Diego USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The History of Wireless: How Creative Minds Produced Technology for the Masses (Paperback)

Wireless is an amazing field. How many other products do you own today that you rely on more than wireless? A decade ago you likely didn't mind leaving home sans wireless; now, most of us feel naked unless our mobile (or handy or cellphone) is with us.

As an industry, the statistics are astounding: it's grown from a blip to one trillion dollars annually in wireless service revenue in 2 decades; 1.3 BILLION devices were shipped in 2007; and in 2008, it's the first year in human history when more people on Earth have a cell phone than do not; and would you dream of buying a laptop without wireless connectivity?

Unless you've been in the industry since the 1980's (as I have), it may be hard to fathom how the wireless industry came to be. Ira Brodsky successfully tackles the breadth and depth of wireless to create a readable and enjoyable understanding of the technology, the industry, and the pioneers who've created what none of us can live without.

I would recommend this book to all who enjoy reading the thread of history, or want a better understanding of what the future of OFDMA, WiMAX, LTE & 4G holds.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A review of "History of Wireless..", July 14, 2009

By 

John F. Smith (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The History of Wireless: How Creative Minds Produced Technology for the Masses (Paperback)

The book is a brief and concise history of the persons involved in the creation of "wireless" as we know it today. There is some technical detail, enough to associate a person with a patent or concept, but the book is more about the people, not the wires. (Or the lack thereof.)
Especially satisfying was that the book did not waste any ink on the show-business aspects of early broadcast radio, nor the gory details of patent disputes.
The technical detail thickened up as the discussion got to cell-phone technology, but then modern radio has gotten vastly more complex.
The book is a good summary. I recommend it.