Description
Book SynopsisWith this book, Hochfelder supplies us with an introduction to the early stirrings of the information age.
Trade ReviewIn The Telegraph in America, 1832-1920, David Hochfelder provides a taut and consistently intelligent history of the telegraph in American life. The book is notable for both its topical breadth-encompassing war, politics, business, journalism, and everyday life-as well as its focused, argument-driven chapters. New Books in Communications The author... develops nuanced analyses to the impact of telegraphy on upon American life. EH.Net Hochfelder's work is exemplary in its caution about mediator technology-specific claims to exceptionalism or determinism. This authoritative and persuasive book will remain an essential reference for scholars. American Historical Review For a quick assessment of telegraphy's development and impact, this insightful book is hard to beat. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly While offering new insights into the relationship between Western Union and Associated Press, Hochfelder's strongest contribution to the history of telegraphy is his analysis of wiring on financial markets and the subsequent spread of speculation and gambling fueled by private wires and telegraph ticker services. MAKE: A Literary Magazine Heavily researched and very clearly presented. Journal of American History Hochfelder left no stone unturned in this well balanced and scholarly examination of the telegraph, those it served, and the impact it had on society. The Michigan Railfan
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction Why the Telegraph Was Revolutionary
1. "Here the Telegraph Came Forceably into Play"
2. "As a Telegraph for the People It Is a Signal Failure"
3. "There Is a Public Voracity for Telegraphic News"
4. "The Ticker Is Always a Treacherous Servant"
5. "Western Union, by Grace of FCC and A.T.&T."
Conclusion The Promise of Telegraphy
Chronology of the American Telegraph Industry
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index
