The Telephone: The Life Story of a Technology

by David Mercer

Overview

The telephone has played a central role in shaping the way we communicate. From the telegraph in the 19th century through the mobile phone of today, the technology of the telephone has drastically altered how people work, how they keep in touch with friends and loved ones, and how they organize their daily lives. It has also been crucial in enabling governments and large organizations to extend their influence, both within and across nations, and has required wide-ranging changes in the law and in business practices. This volume in the Greenwood Technographies series examines the life story of the telephone and shows how this ubiquitous technology so completely impacts our lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313332074
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/30/2006
Series:	Greenwood Technographies
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

David Mercer is Associate Professor in the Science Technology and Society Program at the University of Wollongong, Australia. He is a member of the editorial board of the jourbanal Metascience, and has published extensively in areas of social studies of science

Table of Contents

Series Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Timeline
The Invention and Development of the Telegraph, 1780s–1870s
The Invention of the Telephone, 1876
From Electric Toy to Business Tool, 1876–1893
Expansion, Competition, and the Remaking of the Bell Monopoly, 1893–1918
Consolidation in the Interwar Period, 1918–1945
The Calm before the Storm, 1945–1970s
Stormy Weather, Telecommunications Deregulation, and the New Digital World, 1970s–
The Global Mobile, 1980s–
Mobile Cultures, 1990s–
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Mercer traces the invention and development of the telegraph, the standard telephone, and the mobile telephone, being sure to report progress in Europe alongside U.S. advances. Appropriate for high school and college libraries, the book chronicles challenges to Bell's patent and monopoly, the beginnings of the commercial telephone industry, the social impacts of the telephone, deregulation of telecommunications, and the influence of different national policies on mobile technology. Black and white photographs are provided.” —SciTech Book News

From the Publisher