The Invisible Weapon : Telecommunications and International Politics, 1851-1945 - Daniel R. Headrick

The Invisible Weapon

Telecommunications and International Politics, 1851-1945

By: Daniel R. Headrick

Hardcover | 1 March 1991

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Telecommunication is, and always has been, a political technology, as the timely flow of information is a vital instrument of power. This book examines the political history of telecommunications between 1851, the year the first telegraph cable linked France and Britain, and the end of World War II. Headrick argues that telecommunication gives people options, not orders. During periods of peace, cables and radio were, as many had predicted, instruments of peace; in times of tension, they became instruments of politics, tools for rival interests, and weapons of war. the book illuminates the political aspects of information technology: the speed of telegraphy, which could diffuse conflicts in far-flung empires, but which also hastened the deterioration of diplomacy on the brink of the First World War; the broad coverage of radio, which increased public knowledge and public pressure on governments, and consequently the political interest in controlling news; and the security of telecommunications, which made communications strategy, communications intelligence, and cryptography decisive tools during the two World Wars.
Industry Reviews
"A mine of useful information for communication researchers....The data presented here represent a major contribution to the field and will be of immense value to scholars interested in the historical linkages between mass media and communication technology."-- ournal of Communication "This is a well-balanced book that presents the growth of telecommunications techologies within a global context."--Journal of World History "Headrick's broad-ranging study of the connections between international communications and world politics from the rise of the submarine cable to the end of World War II makes a major contribution."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History "The value of Headrick's book to communication historians is primarily in its compilation of a wealth of examples and minute details about Western cable development and politics the world over....A good resource for anyone interested in the early global development of telecommunications."--Journalism History "With The Invisible Weapon Daniel Headrick puts the capstone on a decade of solid research centered on technology and global politics during the nineteenth and twentieth century....A work that furture historians will turn to repeatedly as the study of information and communications takes on increasing intellectual and social importance."--Business History Review "We should thank Daniel Headrick for working through, step by step, the impact of the plethora of technological changes that have radically transformed all aspects of international relations and diplomacy."--The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science "A fascinating study of the relationship between the ability to communicate and the balance of power....A rare and welcome contribution to the underdeveloped literature on technology and international relations."--Foreign Affairs "A fascinating study of the impact of one particular ingredi ent of the nineteenth century scientific and technological revolution which is still transforming our modern world."--European History Quarterly "Well worth reading."--Communications Booknotes

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