Wiring the World

Based on a clear knowledge of the state of the art, while adopting a solid methodology and robust concepts, Muller is able to provide a fresh history of the development of telegraph networks during the nineteenth century in a truly global perspective. -- Pascal Griset, Sorbonne Wiring the World is a story not only of technical and entrepreneurial achievement but of imperial rivalry, the rise of professions, complex cultural interactions, far-reaching social changes, and a remapping of the meaning of maritime space. Focusing on one of the major developments of the communications revolution-the linking together of much of the world with submarine cable lines in the era before World War I-Simone M. Muller's carefully crafted study contributes significantly to the history and theory of globalization. -- Emily S. Rosenberg, editor of A World Connecting, 1870-1945 (Harvard University Press, 2012) By reconstructing the social networks that linked nineteenth-century British, German, and American North Atlantic telegraph promoters, Wiring the World provides us with a wealth of intriguing and sometimes startling insights into the cultural significance of the Atlantic cable-one of the most iconic technological innovations of the age. -- Richard R. John, author of Network Nation: Inventing American Telecommunications An excellent resource for communications history. Highly recommended. CHOICE A valuable and illuminating analysis. Connections Based on voluminous research, and written in a clear and accessible fashion, Wiring the World is a notable contribution to the history of globalization and technology. -- Duncan Bell Times Literary Supplement The endnotes and bibliography make this book a valuable tool for scholars interested in further research on North Atlantic cable telegraphy. By introducing actor-network theory into the history of telecommunications, Muller has led the way to further advances in the field. -- Daniel Headrick American Historical Review