The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-Lin...
The invention of the telegraph and the "online" pioneers who ensured the communications revolution.
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Apr 05, 2011
Matt
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I just finished this wonderful little volume which chronicles the rise and fall of "The Victorian Intenet," the telegraph. Like many others, I knew about Samuel Morse and the Morse Code, of the laying of the Atlantic cable and how the telegraph laid the groundwork for modern communications unlike anything else in history.
But what I didn't know is how very much alike it was to our Internet. They had "chat rooms" of sorts, they had their hackers and identity theives. More...
But what I didn't know is how very much alike it was to our Internet. They had "chat rooms" of sorts, they had their hackers and identity theives. More...
Mar 07, 2011
Laurie
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While the term ‘Victorian Internet’ conjures up visions of a steampunk alternate history, the invention and spread of the telegraph system in the 19th century had much the same effect on society then as the internet has had in our own time. It turned a world where messages took weeks to cross the Atlantic to one where it took mere minutes. It changed the speed of business and of war. New forms of crime sprang up to take advantage of the new technology and encryption was developed to deal with th
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Oct 24, 2010
Eric
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The book discusses the history of the telegraph. The book explains the technologies preceding the telegraph, the battles between the inventors of the telegraph, the telegraph's role in spawning new technological innovations (and creating enormous wealth for some of those folks) and the ways that the telegraph did--and did not--change society.
Its thesis is that many phenomena we associate with a global electronic network first occurred in the 19th century, not the 20th, which has made More...
Its thesis is that many phenomena we associate with a global electronic network first occurred in the 19th century, not the 20th, which has made More...
May 20, 2009
Greg
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Another shallow, quick, interesting read. I enjoyed this light history of the telegraph, and there certainly were interesting parallels with the Internet. However, there also seemed to be several gaps in the narrative.
For the most part, I liked how Standage simplified his description of the development and evolution of telegraphy. The early pre-electric history and problem-solving stories were particularly interesting. But with all the detail put into explaining some solutions, it wa More...
For the most part, I liked how Standage simplified his description of the development and evolution of telegraphy. The early pre-electric history and problem-solving stories were particularly interesting. But with all the detail put into explaining some solutions, it wa More...
Dec 09, 2011
Ilya
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The Victorian Age had its own Internet, with packet switching, domain names, encryption for secure communication, payload compression and error correction. It was called the electrical telegraph. It was invented in the 1830s by several inventors in Europe and the United States, the most important of whom was Samuel F. Morse. Telegraph lines made a world-wide web; laying the lines made a company making insulated cables from copper and gutta-percha, the resin of a tree from the Malay Peninsula, ve
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Mar 22, 2011
Catherine
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I came across this title when I read the author's A History of the World in Six Glasses but have only now made the time to read it.
It is what it purports to be: the story of the telegraph with heavy comparisons to the internet. Indeed, the writers of one of my favourite TV shows (The Murdoch Mysteries) may have been inspired by this book when they wrote an episode involving characters who are "telegraphers", illustrating many of the same points that Standage makes -- and c More...
It is what it purports to be: the story of the telegraph with heavy comparisons to the internet. Indeed, the writers of one of my favourite TV shows (The Murdoch Mysteries) may have been inspired by this book when they wrote an episode involving characters who are "telegraphers", illustrating many of the same points that Standage makes -- and c More...
Feb 01, 2010
Rebecca
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You know you want to read all about how the telegraph ushered in the information age, "wired love" and all! It's fun to follow the trail of inventive genius and the resulting cultural shockwaves. The things humans can do! Loved that every time I had difficulty picturing the mechanisms of one contraption or another, I turned the page only to find a helpful historical diagram!
The comparisons with our modern internet are still apt 10 years on. Maybe more so, from our vantage More...
The comparisons with our modern internet are still apt 10 years on. Maybe more so, from our vantage More...
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Jul 24, 2009
Coy
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A nice and easy book describing the telegraph. History is an amazing thing. The telegraph was the first invention that really brought people together and this book does a good job of showing how it did that and how it changed society. Just like there are internet romances now, there were telegraph romances back then. Just how there are abbreviations for phrases like "c u l8r" there were short abbreviations for words back then. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
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Sep 25, 2009
Rose
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Steam-powered e-love affairs! Hapless Scottish fisherman trying to serve gutta perch telegraph wire tubs for supper! Telegraph operators flooding the wires of the noobs just like kids flood chat rooms! Plus lots of little-known facts. I had no idea the first telegraphs were optical, or how hard it really was to put a line across oceans, or that codes were illegal... This book was funny and enlightening and just about the best thing you could read if you're a steampunk fan looking for some actua
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Nov 21, 2009
Jacqueline
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What a surprisingly fun historical account of the development, uses, and effects of the telegraph. Standage strung together an interesting narrative which made for an enjoyable and easy (non-academic/jargony/theoretical) read. It's great for anyone looking for an overview of the telegraph or a starting place for understanding the social developments/effects.
It really is amazing how much the development, uses, users, effects, and discourses of the telegraph parallel the internet. Eve More...
It really is amazing how much the development, uses, users, effects, and discourses of the telegraph parallel the internet. Eve More...
May 06, 2011
Melissa
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I had a delightful time reading the Victorian Internet by Tom Statndage. The text is well researched, interesting, and (dare I say) fun to read. Standage does a good job sorting through a complicated and sometimes contentious history, showing the dramatic changes the telegraph brought to how business was conducted, news was reported and humanity viewed its world. The parallels he draws to today's Internet are interesting but at times will overshadow the unique culture and sense of excitement the
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May 21, 2010
Scott
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Standage's short 1998 volume about the social history of the telegraph (and his comparison with the Internet a almost century and a half later) is interesting, and stands up pretty well -- as far as it goes.
Unfortunately, "as far as it goes" is the problem. Details (on technicalities of telegraph design and operation, on pricing and revenues, on administrative and legislative responses to telegraph technology) are thin and spotty, seemingly there only to advance a broad arg More...
Unfortunately, "as far as it goes" is the problem. Details (on technicalities of telegraph design and operation, on pricing and revenues, on administrative and legislative responses to telegraph technology) are thin and spotty, seemingly there only to advance a broad arg More...
Apr 18, 2011
Amy
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My friend, Rebecca recommended this to me, and it's probably the first nonfiction book I've read in at least a few years. It was great. The basic point is that nothing we invent could have the same impact on communication that the telegraph did. There's a lot of information that compares the telegraph with the internet. There were online romances, skepticism and fear of the telegraph just as these things happen online, now. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the histo
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Sep 06, 2011
James
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Although the book is starting to feel in need for an update, it's a very interesting history of the telegraph system, concentrating mostly on the U.S. network. At times I felt like the telegraph/Internet parallels were drawn a bit too heavily and felt a little forced, but if you put yourself back into your mid-90s shoes, when the Internet was The Greatest And Most Unique Thing Ever Built By Man Ever, it's a bit more understandable why the author makes the point so hard.
I would really More...
I would really More...
Aug 23, 2011
tuttle88
rated it: 
Interesting and entertaining but overall disappointing. Its basically a brief overview of the history of the telegraph and it rushes through a lot. Its also almost entirely centered on America and Britain with a little France it leaves out the challenges of building and staffing telegraph offices in remote areas. He mentioned places like India and Africa but doesn't go into how the technology was used as part of the wider colonisation effort which would have been interesting. This book was kind
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Jun 01, 2011
Daniel
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I read this years ago. The visual of two French brothers banging pots and pans to communicate at a distance comes to mind. I also remember mention of the first telegraph wedding, and the trouble that telegraph owners had with operators taking up the lines to play tele-chess. Oh, and all of the work that went into laying the Transatlantic cable, I remember reading about that and thinking: Wow, they did that back then?
This is a great little history book, and I will definitely read it a More...
This is a great little history book, and I will definitely read it a More...
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Apr 21, 2010
Tom
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This book is a fascinating account of the history of the telegraph and how it changed the world. If you are a history and technology buff, you will definitely get a lot out of this book.
Please don't be fooled by the title, however. This book does not make deep comparisons between the histories of the internet and the telegraph. A small chapter at the end of the book provides the only comparison between the two technologies.
Even with this flaw, this is a solid techn More...
Please don't be fooled by the title, however. This book does not make deep comparisons between the histories of the internet and the telegraph. A small chapter at the end of the book provides the only comparison between the two technologies.
Even with this flaw, this is a solid techn More...
Oct 05, 2010
Ryan
rated it:
Utterly fascinating history of the invention, development, spread, ubiquitous use, and decline of the telegraph. The Victorian Internet is a very important global read - this invention was truly one of the most important our species has ever created. The phone, fax, internet, and satellite systems were all just continuations of this idea. A connected planet, exchanging information in real-time. Standage, just as in his "A History of the World in Six Glasses," manages to communicate a s
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Dec 19, 2007
Tracey
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A short, but thorough look at the history of the telegraph, as well as its sociological effects. Standage starts in the 1790's, with the development of the optical telegraph in France. An alternate design was developed in England, which in some ways, foreshadowed the 8-bit binary language of modern computing. The electrical telegraph had many different people participating in its development; with Samuel Morse being not only the first to put the pieces together most successfully, but also the on
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May 08, 2007
haley
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I actually name dropped this book in one of my law school admission essays, it intrigued me so much. Ok. So the telegraph, boring, right? I thought so too, until I realized what a milestone it was for the people in the 1800's. Most people didn't really know what it was or how it even worked. Some folks actually thought messages weren't sent electronically, but through high powered pistons that pumped air and shot folded-up pieces of paper through a telegraph wire over hundreds of miles. And of c
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Feb 17, 2011
Emily Ann
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Fascinating straightforward book identifying parallels between the telegraph and the internet--had no idea the subculture that was set up around it at the time--even as far as online romances, dirty jokes, "chat parties," etc. . . . also discusses the history of the telegraph's development and adoption, and very interesting to learn how underwhelming the original reception of the telegraph was, and then how quickly it became a staple of everyday life . . . until ultimately being replac
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Nov 06, 2010
Kate P.
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This quick read explains how the world had instant communication as far back as the 1860s. The book tells you how the telegraph was developed and then how signals could stretch longer and longer distances. Undersea telegraph cables spanned the globe, connecting the British Empire and beyond. Even today most of the world's communication (phone, Internet) happens through undersea fiber optic cables, not satellites. I found out about this book on a visit to the Telegraph Museum in Cornwall--a p
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Apr 04, 2011
Valerie
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The Victorian Internet is a book that I enjoyed reading and would recommend to anyone seeking to learn more about the history of the telegraph and its significance to the Internet. If history repeats itself, as I think it does, there are key points that can be derived from reading this book. While I cannot imagine a time when the Internet will be replaced by new and better technology like the telephone replaced the telegraph, it is worth thinking about from a user experience design perspective.
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Sep 17, 2009
Steve
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Enjoyable history of the telegraph, how it was developed, grew, and faded away. The title refers, mainly, to the friendships that grew among telegraphers who got to know each other while transmitting messages, and also to the revolution in communications that was really started by the telegraph. The author pushes this metaphor a bit much in the last several chapters and afterword, though; he should have let the story stand on its own.
May 11, 2009
Eric
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A very concise history of the telegraph, but also rather effective if my newly-found appreciation of the early communication technology can be used as a measure. Covering the breadth of the 19th century, this book explores the predecessor of the telegraph, the early optical signaling stations of 1800, to the arrival of the telephone toward the end of the century. A fast, mostly factual read.
Feb 12, 2012
Hoss
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An engaging, readable history of the rise of the telegraph, a technology that changed the 19th century in arguably more profound ways than the Internet changed the 20th. I would have enjoyed the book much more if it had been footnoted; there are lots of details I'd like to explore further. The bibliography helps, but isn't nearly sufficient.
Apr 12, 2011
David
rated it:
Tom Standage reflects on the Telegraph era and compares it to the technology and culture of The Internet. Standage does an excellent job at pointing out the striking similarities between the two telecommunication revolutions.
Visit Tom Standage's blog to see what he is working on now:
http://tomstandage.wordpress.com/
Visit Tom Standage's blog to see what he is working on now:
http://tomstandage.wordpress.com/
Dec 30, 2009
Karen
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This book is very interesting. Unlike, say, the telephone, I don't think most people think very much about the telegraph, because it's not used anymore. But it brought about a revolution in worldwide communications. Before the invention of the telegraph, information could travel no faster than a horse or ship, but after the telegraph news could travel hundreds of miles in minutes, which had wide-reaching consequences for society.
The comparison of the telegraph to the internet is apt, and More...
The comparison of the telegraph to the internet is apt, and More...
Jun 05, 2009
DoctorM
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Nicely done account of the coming of the telegraph and the growth of the worldwide telegraph links of the later 19th-century. It makes me sigh for the days of Morse code and actual telegrams and telegraphese. A good reminder of the social effects of rapid communication, and a tribute to a lost age.
Oct 13, 2011
Jeffrey
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I enjoyed learning about the history of the telegraph system, and the comparisons to today's internet were very convincing. I had no idea that Thomas Edison got his start as an operator, or that the telephone was an attempt to make a better telegraph machine. Overall, this was a very enjoyable book.
