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Nicole Starosielski

The Undersea Network (Sign, Storage, Transmission) Paperback – April 1, 2015

by Nicole Starosielski (Author)

25 ratings

Part of: Sign, Storage, Transmission (17 books)

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In our "wireless" world it is easy to take the importance of the undersea cable systems for granted, but the stakes of their successful operation are huge, as they are responsible for carrying almost all transoceanic Internet traffic. In The Undersea Network Nicole Starosielski follows these cables from the ocean depths to their landing zones on the sandy beaches of the South Pacific, bringing them to the surface of media scholarship and making visible the materiality of the wired network. In doing so, she charts the cable network's cultural, historical, geographic and environmental dimensions. Starosielski argues that the environments the cables occupy are historical and political realms, where the network and the connections it enables are made possible by the deliberate negotiation and manipulation of technology, culture, politics and geography. Accompanying the book is an interactive digital mapping project, where readers can trace cable routes, view photographs and archival materials, and read stories about the island cable hubs.

Print length

312 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Duke University Press Books
Publication date

April 1, 2015
Dimensions

6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0822357550
ISBN-13

978-0822357551
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Starosielski offers a crucial intervention into theoretical conceptualizations of communications infrastructure. . . . This rich text also has profound implications for how citizens in an always-networked society and economy understand our lived realities. The Undersea Network makes us reconsider the ‘wirelessness’ of our world by admonishing us consider it in terms of its peculiar and ongoing connectedness to geographies, cultures, and politics.”

-- Sara Rodrigues ― PopMatters

“[A] fascinating book that is part history, part travelogue and part socio-economic memoir. . . . Starosielski’s account makes for fascinating reading, drawing together the varied threads of history, technical complexity, economic power and political will that have shaped the world’s cable networks. Despite the scale of the infrastructure under discussion, the narrative remains intensely personal, and one to be enjoyed."

-- John Gilbey ― Times Higher Education

“The Undersea Network is a fascinating interdisciplinary look at the infrastructure that lets us communicate instantly across oceans…. [T]his book is a good read for anyone broadly interested in geography or communications.”

-- Eva Amsen ― Hakai Magazine

“A fascinating cultural assessment of global undersea cable networks that carry most of the world's trans-ocean Internet traffic. … Great stuff!”

-- Christopher Sterling ― Communication Booknotes Quarterly

"Overall, the book brilliantly brings together the global metanarrative of mass communication with the local, material, and relatively immobile specificities of this undersea network.... Starosielski is extremely successful in rewiring our wireless imaginaries of a networked world. The depth and breadth of the fieldwork conducted is noteworthy as is the production of the book itself, which contains a plethora of images, graphics, and maps."

-- Rachael Squire ― Transfers Published On: 2016-04-01

"The multistranded analysis developed in the book provides a rewarding account that blends cultural history with investigative ethnography and along the way takes us to remote sites in Hawaii, Tahiti and Guam. Most importantly, Starosielski brings the infrastructure of undersea cable systems back into visibility, showing us in vivid ways what makes global communications possible."

― European Journal of Communication Published On: 2016-04-01

"The Undersea Network succeeds in introducing an environmental consciousness into one’s imagination of digital networks and the ecological, political, financial, place-based contingencies that support, interfere with and maintain our global telecommunications system. It makes cables salient. ... The Undersea Network is required reading for students of media and network archaeology, communication educators, political and environmental scientists, the history of technology discipline, and readers within the cable industries and government."

-- Emily Goodmann ― International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics Published On: 2015-06-01

"If you have ever wondered why infrastructure has suddenly become a buzzword in cultural anthropology and science and technology studies, then follow the signal. That is precisely what The Undersea Network does, brilliantly redeeming the promise of multi-sited fieldwork methods to highlight the connections and disconnection–historical and present-day–among far-flung people and places.... For anyone with an interest in Pacific studies, this book has plenty to ponder."

-- Robert J. Foster ― Journal of Pacific History Published On: 2016-02-08

"[A]n enthralling read for anybody with an interest in telecoms infrastructure and the way that it is presented in the media."

-- Mike Conradi ― Telecommunications Policy Published On: 2017-01-17

"This is a fascinating and deeply geographical piece of media scholarship.Starosielski’s book is remarkably successful in demonstrating that the unstable materiality of the infrastructures it describes matters in all kinds of sometimes contradictory ways to those who construct these infrastructures, to those they connect, and to those who remain at a distance from their connective capacities."

-- Derek P. McCormack ― Cultural Geographies Published On: 2016-10-01

Review

"Nicole Starosielski's The Undersea Network is as expansive as its subject, revealing the networks that make global communication possible as vital worlds unto themselves. In most stories of new media, infrastructure fades into the background. But Starosielski flips the script, making infrastructure the star, vividly describing the places, the people, the institutions, and the politics that constantly work to make global communication possible. In the process, The Undersea Network offers new insights into globalization and digitization. It also teaches us how to study large and largely invisible technical and cultural institutions. Coupled with its groundbreaking digital companion (www.surfacing.in), The Undersea Network will transform our understanding of the networks that make modern media possible."

-- Jonathan Sterne, author of ― MP3: The Meaning of a Format and The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Duke University Press Books (April 1, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0822357550
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0822357551
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,107,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #333 in Mobile & Wireless Telecommunications
- #5,391 in Communication & Media Studies

Customer Reviews:
25 ratings

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Customer reviews

5 star		55%
4 star		14%
3 star		18%
2 star		6%
1 star		7%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Wayne B.

I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know about the ...

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

Rather interesting account of underwater cable systems. Considering the author's non-technical background the book I was pleasantly surprised by how accurate she was in describing the technical aspects of the cabled systems. The political and sociological aspects of the cabled systems were all new to me and very interesting to someone who has spent the last 25 years working on the technical side of underwater cabled systems. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know about the almost unknown communications backbone that makes the Internet possible.

9 people found this helpful

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R. Rodriguez

Terrific read!

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2015

Verified Purchase

Reading the Undersea Network is like attending your favorite teacher's class. This fascinating book shines a light on an "obscure" subject by using a variety of paths, including additional online information that motivates one to seek out more information. If you have the slightest interest in how communication works, especially the internet, you'll enjoy this book.

4 people found this helpful

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Chuck

good non fiction account.

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

I would like to know more about the technical details of the cables.

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Doesn't address modern cables, architecture, and business model

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2021

Verified Purchase

If you want history lesson of cables, this book is for you. If you want a modern update on under sea fiber, how it lashes upto the IPX network, its capacity, owners, and business model, you'll need a different book.

Helpful

piso mojado

Excellent and somewhat a bummer at the same time.

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2015

Verified Purchase

I love it since I am a cable tech junkie. However, there is a weird adherence to templates for historical analysis which lead frequently to absurdly long sentences about infrastructure typologies. One has to endure these little straitjackets of text (which I am sure delight some academics) to the mostly fun and dynamic story presented.
Mostly, it has the kick of a good Wired article before it gets submerged [literally} in seemingly endless poor prose to defend historical templates.

6 people found this helpful

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Ronald Thomas

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

Very unique and insightful book.

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Jeff

I am interested in undersea power cable, not data ...

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

I am interested in undersea power cable, not data cables. I am a retired electrical engineer and the science of undersea POWER cables really interests me. Book was not really what I expected.

Helpful

Joe Madrone

Don't expect a technical history book

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2015

Verified Purchase

Undersea cables are a fascinating topic but this book doesn't quite manage to keep your interest. It looks at cables from an academic and mostly nontechnical perspective so you don't learn very much about them. The book originated as a PhD thesis and it shows. Typical sentence (from the intro, p. 25): "These chapters offer a set of nodal narratives that illustrate the long-standing relationships between media infrastructures, environmental processes, and cultural history."

If you have the patience, the book still manages to teach you some interesting things about these cables, thus I'm not scoring it as one star. But it's not an easy read, and if you're looking to understand how these cables systems work (technically and economically) this isn't the book to find out.

9 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Tomari

Politically correct overview

Reviewed in Japan on September 7, 2021

Verified Purchase

ポリコレな海底通信ケーブルの歴史や解説。歴史的な視点が業界の現状を知るのに役に立つ。

主要な陸揚地の場所が帝国主義とか冷戦期の理屈で選定され、目の前のプロジェクトコストの観点からみな似たようなルートを増やし、誰もシステム全体の責任を負わないから総体的なリスク分散がおろそかになる、など。歴史的経緯を記述しつつ、分析を交えている。

現地取材のあとがみれるが、anonymous cable engineerが多すぎて、はたして実際のところ情報源がどれくらいあるのかわからない。

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bryanL

The first review has been banned as being of a ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2016

Verified Purchase

The first review has been banned as being of a profane nature. It was positive. G-D or A===h help you .

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