4 ms·
I recommend 'A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable' by John Steele Gordon. [1] From description, "But in 1866, the Old and Ne
by stevewilhelm 12y ago
I recommend 'A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable' by John Steele Gordon. [1]
From description,
"But in 1866, the Old and New Worlds were united by the successful laying of a cable across the Atlantic. John Steele Gordon's book chronicles this extraordinary achievement -- the brainchild of American businessman Cyrus Field and one of the greatest engineering feats of the nineteenth century. An epic struggle, it required a decade of effort, numerous failed attempts, millions of dollars in capital, a near disaster at sea, the overcoming of seemingly insurmountable technological problems, and uncommon physical, financial, and intellectual courage."
[1] http://amzn.com/0060524464 http://amzn.com/0060524464
- gimboland 12y agoAlso very enjoyable, and somewhat shorter (though still very long): 'Mother Earth Mother Board' [1], Neal Stephenson's essay on the laying of the FLAG cable, and related history. [1] http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass.html http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass.html
- jfoutz 12y agoThat was such an amazing article. I still remember how long that story and how engaging it was. IIRC that issue of wired was like 20 pages thicker than the rest. Somewhere Stephenson talked about being grateful to Wired for not cutting it down to a 6k length. I still tell people the part about the library of Alexandria interconnect. Great story about the internet's adolescence.
- Swannie 12y agoI think I'm going to go for a third read :-)
- sanoli 12y agoAlso check out "The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-line Pioneers" http://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Internet-Remarkable-Nineteenth--line/dp/162040592X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409342463&sr=1-1&keywords=the+victorian+internet http://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Internet-Remarkable-Nineteen...