Samuel Morse and the Telegraph

Graphic Library: Inventions and Discovery

by David Seidman, Charles Barnett III, Keith Williams

Tells the story of how Samuel Morse developed a working telegraph in 1844 that changed the way people communicated. Written in graphic-novel format.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, American History, Picture Books, Science

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

David Seidman is a Los Angeles–area journalist, editor, and author who often writes nonfiction for teens. He comes to the topic of atheism with empathy
for teenagers and for people in the religious minority, but he’s nobody’s advocate. He has written on topics as diverse as a US president, civil rights, teens
in Iran, and holiday lights displays.

Reviews

[katyjanereads]

1. I love reading non-fiction in graphic novel form. It's easier for me to retain and I also get more interested in it.
2. The only thing I wish this book had was the complete Morse code in the back. I know it was throughout the book, but I wanted to see the whole alphabet.
3. It's amazing how fast technology can change and how inventors build upon one another.
4. I would recommend these to the youngest of readers to the most advanced. They are easy, quick, and a good overview.

[Kiddo]

Non-fiction graphic novel, a welcome series! There are videos too. Perhaps this should be 5 stars. No complaints about what is there, just that there could be more.

[Raja99]

Why I Read This Book: I've heard the telegraph called "The Victorian Internet", so I wanted to learn a little more about it.

This is a brief and highly entertaining history of Samuel Morse's development of the telegraph and the Morse code. It does a good job of capturing the pain of living in the pre-telegraph era, when life, death, and war were harmed by the lack of fast communications. It talks (briefly) about some of the technical issues, and Morse's rivals. It ends with the switchover to satellite systems and the abandonment of Morse code, but notes that our modern era depends on the fast communications that the telegraph pioneered.

(Finished sometime in mid-July 2009 ??)

[Shelly♥]

I love the idea of graphic history. My boys really enjoyed reading this version of the Samuel Morse story. We are not taking it as our only source, and are supplementing with more traditional text.

I think the format does a great job in conveying some of the action in the story. Will be looking for more of these at our local library.

[Ebookwormy1]

Engaging graphics, informative text and a fun comic style summarize Morse' life, interests, inspirations, and invention. The need for faster communication, legal challenges to his inventor status, financial obstacles, further technological advances built upon his success and the fading of Morse code are also included. Excellent work, highly recommended.

[Dexter]

As usual, the graphic history books add a humorous tone to history, but due to my previous encounters with graphic history, I'm somewhat doubtful about the truthfulness of its story.

Still, a good, fun, short look at the telegraph's invention and life.

[Tayvon Fouch]

this book is awesome

[April]

Love these books