Customer Reviews

Telegraph, Telephone, and Wireless: How Telecom Changed the World

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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.

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.

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.

I admit that I'm biased because Bert Lundy is my esteemed colleague and I have followed the progress of his book for most of the time it took him to write it. Bert is passionate about his subject matter and it shows. His goal was to integrate the science and the business aspects of telecommnications in a way that has not existed before. He has succeeded. He has an appreciation, not just for the science and technology, but also for the tremendous accomplishments of those who made it into a business and who helped themselves by helping us.
Maybe this isn't the best way to read the book, but my way has been to dip into parts of it while in line at the coffee shop or other places and to find something interesting. I always do. My favorite was the tale of how the trans-Atlantic cable was laid. It seemed impossible but, of course, it happened.

I recall in a course given by Dr. Peter Denning how he motivated his students to read citations related dated long time ago from the very first machines to more advanced topics in early 70s. At the same direction Dr. Lundy provides a great review of how technology started, the motives and the economics involved. Engineers normally fail to understand that technology is highly correlated to the law system and the dynamics of economy. This is a great book that everyone involved in the telecommunications field should read. Georgios Kioumourtzis MSc, PhD Student

Most likely, the reason you are reading this review(s) is because you acquired scientific and engineering knowledge throughout your studies or your work. The technical subject of Communications by itself is fascinating, but what is often missing is the "human component". Prof Lundy presents in a very clear and pleasant way who was behind these innovations. The discovery of the laws of propagation is not sufficient for a great idea to develop. This book explains how great scientific discoveries evolved through the entrepreneurs, the CEO's, the Governments and their lawyers to become the "Telecom [which] Changed the World". This is what is missing in today's scientific education, whether it is Engineering, Mathematics or Physics: an understanding of the times when things are developped, the economics and the personalities. This book gave me this understanding.

What we learn in school about the creation of our technology is so filtered and full of genius inventors and miraculous ideas that we would never have the courage to pit our mere mortal selves into the entrepreneurial struggle. Thanks to Bert Lundy's excellent review of not only the telecommunications technologies but also the struggle's and personal stories behind the scenes we get a different picture. One that is full of hard work, promotion, tenacity, insights, failure and even cheating that make our history a familiar a familiar tale not too different from the struggles in Silicone Valley today.
This book tells it as it was. Bert Lundy has assembled a wealth of information and presented it in an easy to read style. It's a must read for any one with an entrepreneurial ambition. It should be required reading for all students hoping to make their career in the technologies.

We take many things for granted in this time of the Internet and instant communication. It is a good idea to pause and find out how we got there. Fortunately, this book does exactly that. It provides a fascinating history of the development of telephone and wireless communications, the obstacles to it and the big names involved. The writing is very entertaining and keeps the reader engaged. The author made a lot of research to gather all this information, and I am grateful to him for having done so. Of course, some things I knew here and there, many othes I didn't, but by putting everything together, Prof. Lundy allows for an appreciation of how the technology evolved and took us where we are. Very strongly recommended. -Mario Blaum, Ph. D.