The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret

Couverture
W. W. Norton & Company, 17 janv. 2008 - 256 pages

"[A] page-turner…The Telephone Gambit is solid history, and Seth Shulman makes it as much fun to read as an Agatha Christie whodunit." —John Steele Gordon, Wall Street Journal

Throughout his career, Alexander Graham Bell, one of the world’s most famous inventors, was plagued by a secret: he stole the key idea behind the invention of the telephone.

While researching at MIT, science journalist Seth Shulman scrutinized Bell’s journals and within them found the smoking gun, a hint of deeply buried historical deception. Bell furtively—and illegally—copied part of Elisha Gray’s patent caveat in the race to secure what would become the most valuable U.S. patent ever issued. Delving further into Bell’s story, Shulman unearths the surprising truth behind the telephone—and with it, a tale of romance, corruption, and unchecked ambition. The Telephone Gambit challenges the reputation of an icon of invention, rocks the foundation of a corporate behemoth, and offers a probing meditation on how little we know about our own history.

 

Pages sélectionnées

Table des matières

PLAYING TELEPHONE
11
DISCONNECTED
17
ON THE HOOK
26
CALLING HOME
39
NO ANSWER
50
OPERATOR ASSISTANCE
63
CLEAR RECEPTION
77
PERSONTOPERSON
84
INTERFERENCE
96
Tapping the Phone
126
Bad Connection
138
Call Waiting
163
Conference Call
198
Droits d'auteur

Autres éditions - Tout afficher

The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret
Seth Shulman
Aperçu limité - 2008
The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret
Seth Shulman
Aucun aperçu disponible - 2009
The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret
Seth Shulman
Aucun aperçu disponible - 2008

Expressions et termes fréquents

affidavit AGB to Mabel Aleck Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Melville Bell American Archives available online Bell and Gray Bell Telephone Bell wrote Bell's Bell’s notebook Bell’s patent Boston Brown Bruce Cahan Cambridge Centennial claim Conevery deaf demonstration Deposition of Alexander device Dibner Institute documents Dowd Edison electrical Elisha Gray Evenson explained fact February 14 filed Gardiner Hubbard George Gertrude Hubbard Gray's Gray’s caveat Grosvenor Helmholtz Hermann von Helmholtz historians Hounshell Ibid Invented the Telephone inventor Journal Laboratory Notebook learned letter Liffen liquid transmitter Mabel Hubbard machine MacKenzie March multiple telegraph notes Oberlin College October offered patent application patent examiner Philipp Reis Pollok receiver recounted Reis's Science seemed Shulman speaking telephone story Taylor tele telephone patent telephone's Thomas Edison tion transmit speech U.S. Patent Office variable resistance vibration Visible Speech Washington Watson Western Union Wilber William York Zenas

À propos de l'auteur (2008)

Seth Shulman is an author, editor, and journalist specializing in issues in science, technology, and the environment. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Informations bibliographiques

TitreThe Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret
AuteurSeth Shulman
ÉditeurW. W. Norton & Company, 2008
ISBN0393070506, 9780393070507
Longueur256 pages
  
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