How the World Was One

By Arthur C. Clarke

Book Overview

A master of the science fiction genre chronicles the history of telecommunications, discussing submarine cables and the development of fiber optics and communication satellites, and projecting into... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553074407
• ISBN13: 9780553074406
• Release Date: June 1992
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

4 and 1/2 Stars

How The World Was One is a highly interesting history of communications from the telegraph forward, written by a true expert on the subject. The first 100 or so pages of the book focus on the invention of the telegraph, and the great and largely unknown trials and troubles that went into the laying of the first transatlantic submarine cable. This stranger-than-fiction tale is enchanced by the underlying substory of the life of such people as the "great American" Cyrus W. Field. Further into the book, we are told of the invention of the telephone and the subsequent impact it had on communications, and, indeed, civilization itself. Here we hear about people such as, of course, Alexander Graham Bell, and Oliver Heaviside. After this, we are treated to a true insider's view of comsats, a thing which Clarke, as is well known, played a large part in, and we are given here a reprint of his classic "Short Pre-History of Comsats: Or How I Lost A Billion Dollars In My Spare Time." Due to the author's personal involvement, the subject comes off as fresh and interesting, and does not read like dry technical jargon. The same is true of the book as a whole. There are technical bits involved (indeed, in the book there is a reprint of ACC's original comsat essay "Extra-Terrestrial Relays", published in Wireless World in 1945), but Clarke is a gifted writer, and the book's prose is such that it is interesting to the expert and enlightening and entertaining to the unitiated. This book is fairly hard to find, but I suggest you pick it up if you can find it, if you are looking for some good non-SF ACC, or a get-it-all-in-one-place communications history.

How the World Was One

Clarke discussing the evolution of communications through history. Very entertaining book that goes into a lot of history that even people who think they know a lot, don't really know. I wish it was still in print.

Great Story!

Clarke's telling of Cyrus Fields' incredible effort to connect Europe and North America with a telegraph cable is fascinating. This story seems to have been lost to history except for this book which now sadly appears to be out of print. What a pity! If you can find it. Read it.

interesting!

a good read and with clarke's writing style you don't have to be an electronics/math/whatever genius to understand it.

What a great story!

Mr. Clarke tells the relatively unknown story of how an American, Cyrus Fields, battled tremendous hardships to successfully link Europe and North America with a telegraph wire. Mr. Fields' dedication to his quest and his belief in himself are inspiring. A real American hero and a story that is worth knowing. Enjoy and thank you Mr. Clarke for this book.