The Telephone Gambit- Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret PDF
Preview The Telephone Gambit- Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret
More praise for The TELEPHONE GAMBIT “How often does a detective story upend history?…A page turner…read[s] more like the stuff of thrillers than of the history of science.” —Marjorie Kehe, Christian Science Monitor “It’ll be stacked in the science shelves, but The Telephone Gambit might be an early contender for best thriller of the year.” —Barbara Spindel, Barnes & Noble Review “Fraught with controversy, conspiracy, and possible chicanery, Shulman spins real-life Da Vinci Code drama around one of the most influential inventions of the modern era.” —Amazon.com (Editor’s Pick of the Month) “A dramatic probe into a shocking intellectual theft…the skillful, polished writing makes century-old events spring to life.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “Shulman’s book rewards us with a fresh take on old lore, and spurs us to consider what history’s losers might add to the story—such as how they got to be losers in the first place.” —Jane H. Furse, New York Daily News “Shulman deftly explains the intricacies of electrical currents in user-friendly prose…. [He] proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Bell’s employment of a liquid transmitter had to be both a blatant appropriation of Gray’s idea and an 11th-hour addition to Bell’s own patent application.” —Mark Coleman, Los Angeles Times “History is often a collection of agreed-upon myths. The historian’s role is to ask tough questions and doggedly follow the evidence. Seth Shulman provides a stellar example of historical investigation at its probing best…challeng[ing] one of the greatest ‘eureka moments’ of scientific history.” —Chuck Leddy, Boston Globe “An impressive aspect of Shulman’s sleuthing is his measured assessment of facts…. [The Telephone Gambit] rewrites history even as it immediately lures readers with scandal and iconoclasm.” —Gilbert Taylor, Booklist, starred review “Following a trail of clues discovered in Alexander Graham Bell’s journals, Seth Shulman’s The Telephone Gambit masterfully breathes life into a long-forgotten controversy.” —Jeff Lebrecque, Entertainment Weekly (Rated “A”) “Part muckraking journalism, part detective story, and part science lesson, The Telephone Gambit is an engaging romp through the scientific world of the late 19th century with a cast of characters worthy of Dickens…. Shulman does his fascinating best to right a very old wrong.” —VeryShortList.com “A powerful and personal story of historical sleuthing and discovery that you won’t be able to put down. Seth Shulman has single-handedly rewritten the history of the telephone, one of the most important inventions of modern times.” —Robert Buderi, author of The Invention That Changed the World and founder of Xconomy.com “Shulman…brings [to the book] some tantalizing bits of fresh evidence and his considerable talent for writing engaging prose.” —David L. Morton, Jr., Science “[A] great tale of historic detection.” —Jeff Hecht, NewScientist “[This] smoothly written, impeccably researched book…traces a tangled tale of theft and fraud as Bell and his well-connected lawyers obtain and defend the most lucrative patent ever issued.” —Phillip Manning, Cleveland Plain Dealer “Shulman combines deft sleuthing and a nose for a good story with lively, compact prose. The Telephone Gambit is a necessary addendum to textbook history.” —Bookmarks Magazine “Shulman brings a journalist’s storytelling skills and a historian’s persistence to this account…. With humor and intelligence, [he] helps us understand how myth overtakes historical events. This title is ideal for history undergraduates learning scholarly methods; general readers will enjoy it for its engrossing descriptions of historical detective work.” —Michael Dashkin, Library Journal “In Seth Shulman’s The Telephone Gambit, readers will find a story of intrigue worthy of James Patterson…. Shulman crosses the globe teasing apart layers of assumptions and history—including possible coercion, lies, deceit and long court battles—to find out exactly what happened with what has been called the most lucrative patent in history.” —Cindy Kibbe, New Hampshire Business Review “[A] tale of intrigue and deception…Balzac said that behind every great fortune lies a great crime. Whether this is the case with the telephone, as Shulman’s detective work seems to suggest, the reader can judge.” —Saswato R. Das, Times Literary Supplement “Examines a historical event with the suspenseful gush of a detective novel and the intellectual clarity of academic scholarship.” —Chelsea Bauch, Boldtype.com “[A] fascinating tale of what could be the greatest intellectual property theft in history.” —Mark Roth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ALSO BY SETH SHULMAN Undermining Science Unlocking the Sky Owning the Future The Threat at Home The TELEPHONE GAMBIT Chasing Alexander Graham Bell’s Secret Seth Shulman W. W. NORTON & COMPANY New York London To my father, with love and gratitude CONTENTS 1 PLAYING TELEPHONE 2 DISCONNECTED 3 ON THE HOOK 4 CALLING HOME 5 NO ANSWER 6 OPERATOR ASSISTANCE 7 CLEAR RECEPTION 8 PERSON-TO-PERSON 9 INTERFERENCE 10 CALLER I.D. 11 TAPPING THE PHONE 12 BAD CONNECTION 13 ON THE LINE 14 CALL WAITING 15 PARTY LINE 16 CONFERENCE CALL Acknowledgments Notes Credits
The list of books you might like
