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The popular image of Alexander Graham Bell is that of an elderly American patriarch, memorable only for his paunch, his Santa Claus beard, and the invention of the telephone. In this magisterial reassessment based on thorough new research, acclaimed biographer Charlotte Gray reveals Bell’s wide-ranging passion for invention and delves into the private life that supported his genius. The child of a speech therapist and a deaf mother, and possessed of superbly acute hearing, Bell developed an early interest in sound. His understanding of how sound waves might relate to electrical waves enabled him to invent the “talking telegraph” be- fore his rivals, even as he undertook a tempestuous courtship of the woman who would become his wife and mainstay.
In an intensely competitive age, Bell seemed to shun fame and fortune. Yet many of his innovations—electric heating, using light to transmit sound, electronic mail, composting toilets, the artificial lung—were far ahead of their time. His pioneering ideas about sound, flight, genetics, and even the engineering of complex structures such as stadium roofs still resonate today. This is an essential portrait of an American giant whose innovations revolutionized the modern world.
Part I Circuits and Connections 1847-1876
Chapter 1 The Great White Plague 1847-1870 1
Chapter 2 The Backwoods of Canada 1870 21
Chapter 3 Boston Bound 1871-1874 30
Chapter 4 A Brahmin Childhood 1857-1873 51
Chapter 5 Good Vibrations 1873-1875 68
Chapter 6 The Fateful "Twang" 1875 82
Chapter 7 Nantucket Passion 1875 97
Chapter 8 Patent No. 174,465 1875-1876 117
Part 2 The Struggle for Balance 1876-1889
Chapter 9 Ring for the Future 1876-1877 143
Chapter 10 London Life 1877-1878 167
Chapter 11 Litigation Battles 1878-1880 188
Chapter 12 Sad Losses, Failed Hopes 1880-1885 211
Chapter 13 Atlantic Adventures 1885-1887 235
Chapter 14 A Shifting Balance 1887-1889 248
Chapter 15 Helen Keller and the Politics of Deafness 1886-1896 266
Part 3 Monster Kites and Flying Machines 1889-1923
Chapter 16 Escape to Cape Breton 1889-1895 293
Chapter 17 Monster Kites 1895-1900 321
Chapter 18 Family Remains 1900-1906 344
Chapter 19 Bell's Boys 1906-1909 364
Chapter 20 The Auld Chief 1909-1915 381
Chapter 21 The Last Hurrah 1915-1923 402
Epilogue The Legacies of Alexander Graham Bell 427
Appendix Patents Issued by the U.S. Patent Office to Alexander Graham Bell and His Associates 433
Sources 35
Photo Sources 446
Acknowledgments 447
Index 451
Maps
Bell's Boston 50
The Atlantic Coast of North America 116
Beinn Bhreagh 316
Anonymous
Posted March 28, 2008
An excellent book. I enjoyed it a great deal and I am completely satisfied. The writing style is pleasing and the story line stays focused. The historical underpinning applies directly to the subject at hand. There is no digression. The author lets the story do the talking. And it is a very interesting story, not only of Mr. Bell but of his family. I am really impressed with this author. Why can't Charlotte Gray write every biography? I would read them all.
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Overview
The popular image of Alexander Graham Bell is that of an elderly American patriarch, memorable only for his paunch, his Santa Claus beard, and the invention of the telephone. In this magisterial reassessment based on thorough new research, acclaimed biographer Charlotte Gray reveals Bell’s wide-ranging passion for invention and delves into the private life that supported his genius. The child of a speech therapist and a deaf mother, and possessed of superbly acute hearing, Bell developed an early interest in ...