Reprint of a version published in 1910 in Chicago by A.C. McClurg. An example of a primary source.

This book is on the reserve cart. "The telephone rings. It jingles our psyches, jangles our nerves. We are seduced and soothed, rattled and betrayed by it. Wherever it is - on the desk or street corner, the high seas or highway, in our bathrooms or briefcases - it has, for a machine, an allure like no other." "Once Upon a Telephone is a visual history of this indispensable and inescapable apparatus - with an emphasis on the days before 800s, 900s, voice mail, and FAX. Lavishly illustrated in full color with a wealth of twentieth-century ephemera - everything from movie stills to matchbooks - and including excerpts from a variety of literary sources, Once Upon a Telephone is a spirited tribute to operators, directories, phone booths, and, of course, the appliance itself." "The evolution of telephony irreversibly altered conventions of modern romance and constructions of power; Once Upon a Telephone is the only work in existence to chronicle these changes in such a comprehensive and entertaining fashion."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The telephone looms large in our lives, as present in modern societies as cars and television. Claude Fischer presents a social history of this vital but little-studied technology - how we encountered, tested, and ultimately embraced it with enthusiasm. Using telephone ads, oral histories, telephone industry correspondence and statistical data, the study explores how, when and why Americans started communicating in this radically new manner.

On March 7, 1876, the U.S. Patent Office issued to a young inventor named Alexander Graham Bell what is arguably the most valuable patent ever: entitled improvements in telegraphy, in truth it secured for Bell the basic principles involved in a telephone. On the same day that Bell filed his patent application, a caveat (a preliminary patent document) was filed by Elisha Gray. This coincidence sparked the first of many debates over whether Bell was the true inventor of the telephone. In the early 1860s Johann Phillipp Reis developed a version of the instrument, but his claims against Bell were hampered by the bungling of his lawyers in demonstrating his instrument in court. This work is a first look at the many men who developed the telephone and an examination of their claims against Bells patent. A lay description of the phone is also provided, as well as a history of the development of the telephone system.

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.

Cellular Telephones and Pagers is an overview of the basics of mobile telephone and paging technology and related issues. It is written for the interested layman as well as the professional looking for basic information. The first half of the book deals mainly with the technology: operation, transmission, special-case services, and troubleshooting. The second half covers the related issues that surround the cellular industry, such as security, regulations, international markets, and future developments. The combination makes this a valuable tool for business people who want an overview of cellular systems, or for technical professionals who need to update their knowledge.

Few modern innovations have spread quite so quickly as the cell phone. This technology has transformed communication throughout the world. Mobile telecommunications have had a dramatic effect in many regions, but perhaps nowhere more than for low-income populations in countries such as Jamaica, where in the last few years many people have moved from no phone to cell phone. This book reveals the central role of communication in helping low-income households cope with poverty. The book traces the impact of the cell phone from personal issues of loneliness and depression to the global concerns of the modern economy and the transnational family. As the technology of social networking, the cell phone has become central to establishing and maintaining relationships in areas from religion to love. The Cell Phone presents the first detailed ethnography of the impact of this new technology through the exploration of the cell phone's role in everyday lives.

Presenting the history of the cellular phone from its beginnings in the 1940s to the present, this book explains the fundamental concepts involved in wireless communication along with the ramifications of cellular technology on the economy, U.S. and international law, human health, and society. The first two chapters deal with bandwidth and radio. Subsequent chapters look at precursors to the contemporary cellphone, including the surprisingly popular car phone of the 1970s, the analog cellphones of the 1980s and early 1990s, and the basic digital phones which preceded the feature-laden, multipurpose devices of today.

This book will be on the reserve cart. Providing the first comprehensive, accessible, and international introduction to cell phone culture and theory, this book is and clear and sophisticated overview of mobile telecommunications, putting the technology in historical and technical context. Interdisciplinary in its conceptual framework, Cell Phone Culture draws on a wide range of national, regional, and international examples, to carefully explore the new forms of consumption and use of communication and media technology that the phenomenon of mobiles represents. This fascinating biography of an important cultural object: adopts an integrated multiperspective approach considers the mobile phone and its history, production, design, consumption and representation examines the implications in contemporary media convergence such as digital photography an mobile internet. Also reflecting on the challenges and provocations of mobile phone technology and use, this is an absolute must read for any student of media studies, cultural studies or technology.