Telegraph, Telephone, and Wireless: How Telecom Changed the World [Paperback]

Bert Lundy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 21, 2009

Telegraph, Telephone & Wireless: How Telecom Changed the World by Bert Lundy portrays the world of telecommunications and the research and discoveries that made it possible. Lundy examines the great telecommunications entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers, their inventions, the beginnings of networks, technology, and the growth of the businesses that gave rise to telecom as it is today. Telegraph, Telephone & Wireless reviews the early development of optical and electrical telegraphs, the inspiring story of the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable, the invention and development of the telephone, and the early development of wireless. An understanding of the origins and development of telecom is valuable for anyone who works with or uses the Internet or cell phones today. Telegraph, Telephone & Wireless will educate, enrich, and entertain all who are interested in telecom.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bert Lundy is a professor in the computer science department at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, since 1988. He has published numerous technical papers on communications. During the 1990s he developed a business plan and a management team for a telecom startup which eventually failed. Previously, he was a research assistant at Georgia Tech, obtaining a Ph.D in 1988. From 1981-84, he was a software engineer in Dallas, Texas, where he worked on large software engineering projects. Prof. Lundy has taught short classes on networking in Europe, Japan, and Mexico. He has given talks at AT&T Bell Laboratories and at numerous conferences and universities. From 1977-81 he served in the U.S. Army at Fort Ord, California. In addition to the Ph.D., he holds degrees in computer science from the University of Texas at Dallas, and in mathematics from Texas A&M University. He also speaks Spanish. Dr. Lundy is married, has four children, and lives in Northern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 586 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (January 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439213089
• ISBN-13: 978-1439213087
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,988,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important telecom work, April 12, 2010

By 

Thomas G. Farley (West Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Telegraph, Telephone, and Wireless: How Telecom Changed the World (Paperback)

In Telegraph, Telephone and Wireless, Bert Lundy examines the origins and early developments of these three communication systems. The work is comprehensive and could replace with one volume a small shelf of communication titles. It should be a first choice for libraries and individuals wanting one book to explain the history of early wired and wireless networks. The book looks at the technology of each system in a simple way without bogging down in technical details. Those that wish to go further can pursue the well done bibliography. But technology is not the only focus here, far from it. The book's 540 pages puts most accomplishments into their necessary context. That includes, where necessary, an inventor's background, regulatory concerns, government policies, financial impacts, and legal issues. Patent law is much discussed. The book reads well and moves quickly. A thoughtful analysis and opinion chapter concludes the work. Lundy should be congratulated for penning such a complete and engaging book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Summary of Telecom History, June 16, 2009

By 

David Hochfelder - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Telegraph, Telephone, and Wireless: How Telecom Changed the World (Paperback)

This book fills an important need in the history of technology. Before Bert Lundy's book appeared, there wasn't a good one-volume history of telecommunications. Lundy clearly explains the business and technology of landline telegraphy, ocean cables, the telephone, and early radio. I'll turn to it often as a handy and informative reference.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good survey of communications history for the general reader, June 13, 2009

By 

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

This review is from: Telegraph, Telephone, and Wireless: How Telecom Changed the World (Paperback)

Bert Lundy takes on a big task in examining the entire history of telecommunications and its effects on commerce, government, and society, but succeeds admirably in this informative and readable book.

The book begins with a brief section on early mechanical and optical telegraphs, which were the first attempts to speed up long distance communication, and quickly moves into the meat of the subject with a detailed section on electrical telegraphy in Britain and America. As well as the technical details, Mr Lundy gives an insight into the politics and business rivalries of the early industry.

The Atlantic Telegraph is given its own long section, appropriate to the importance of long-distance submarine telegraphy in opening up worldwide communications in the last half of the 19th century. Despite the invention of the telephone, described in the book's next section, cable telegraphy was the predominant carrier of international message traffic well into the 1950s.

With the next section, on the telephone, the author gets into technology that is still familiar today, describing not only the invention of the instrument and the vast communications system that sprang from it in the United States, but also the predominance and monopoly of AT&T and its eventual breakup. The last part of this section covers the opening up of the telephone industry, which eventually resulted in the vast array and diversity of personal communications devices that we enjoy today.

Almost concurrent with the rise of the telephone was that of wireless communication. In the final section of his book Mr Lundy takes us from the 18th and 19th century's first experiments on electricity through the development of the theories of its propagation in various media and the early efforts to communicate "wirelessly". He describes how this led to the beginnings of communication by radio in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and how this was followed by the commercialization of the broadcast industry in the 1920s and 30s.

In his concluding chapter the author gives some further thoughts on each of the major developments in telecommunications over the last 200 years, and what lessons we might learn from history.