Getting the Message: A History of Communications Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

Getting the Message: A History of Communications Book

Getting The Message: A History of Communication is a strange book. Is it a present for someone's coffee-table, or a school textbook, or serious history? Laszlo Solymar's quirky commentary mixes colourful character studies with social criticism, technical explanation with personal prejudice. It starts with fire signals and ends with Internet "firewalls". He tells us that he would join a Campaign for Curbing the Spread of Acronyms. He regrets that e-mail means you get contacted by forgotten acquaintances sending you details of their offspring. He points out that Dudayev, the Chechen rebel leader, was blown to smithereens because he was too fond of his mobile phone, and all this is mixed in with explanations of "The principles of a triode amplifier". The narrative is brisk and there are an amazing number of illustrations and cartoons, which make Solymar's points perfectly. For example a prescient Punch cartoon from 1879 shows two people videoconferencing, and there's a picture of an eavesdropping device used by Alexander the Great. Solymar, an Oxford Professor of Engineering, mentions his debt to his fellow dons in the dedication. The exchange of academic ideas has enriched his text. His mind reaches beyond the scientific: he seems perfectly at ease as a historian describing how, during the Russian Revolution, Kerensky and Kornilov had to communicate using the telegraph. Had Russia been less backward, they would have used the telephone. Had they been even more backward, they would have met in person. But they used the telegraph, misunderstood each other, and thus set in motion the October Revolution. This book sets out to be technical, polemical, historical, analytical and readable. With the exception of a few longueurs, the author, through his breadth of reference and determination to be accessible, has succeeded. --Brian JennerRead More

from£71.21 | RRP: £39.00
* Excludes Voucher Code Discount Also available Used from £4.37
  • ASDA

    An introduction to the field of communications this book explores the history of communications starting with ancient civilizations the Greeks and Romans then leading through the development of the electric telegraph and up to the present day with email and cellular phones.

  • 0198503334
  • 9780198503330
  • Laszlo Solymar
  • 30 September 1999
  • OUP Oxford
  • Hardcover (Book)
  • 328
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click through any of the links below and make a purchase we may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Click here to learn more.

Would you like your name to appear with the review?

We will post your book review within a day or so as long as it meets our guidelines and terms and conditions. All reviews submitted become the licensed property of www.find-book.co.uk as written in our terms and conditions. None of your personal details will be passed on to any other third party.

All form fields are required.