Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1192416 in Books
• Published on: 1992-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Review
"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

Customer Reviews

Great intro to the politics of international communications
As technology has increased the speed of communications over the past two centuries, so too has it increased its importance to governments. With knowledge being power, governments have sought to capitalize on the increasing rapidity and accessibility of communications, both for advancing their own control and to limit the power and influence of their adversaries. This is something that Daniel Headrick clearly demonstrates in this book, which examines the political aspects of the emergence of the global communications network in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Headrick begins by examining the emergence of the first technology to make rapid communication over long distances possible - the electric telegraph. While developing internal networks was relatively easy, communications over long distances was politically risky, as messages could be intercepted and disrupted on lines that crossed hostile territory. Security thus became an issue early in global communications, one that could only be guaranteed by submarine cables, which gave their owner direct contact with possessions half a world away. The leader in the effort to establish an international network was Great Britain; though most Western governments seized on telegraphy in the second half of the nineteenth century, only the British had capital markets large enough both to fund the often expensive projects and to absorb their often considerable loss.

By the start of the twentieth century, a rapid communications network spanned the globe, one that served as a tool of national power and security. Yet as Headrick notes, it also fueled international insecurity. He sees the quickening pace of communications as a factor in the growing international tensions that plagued the world in the first decade of the new century, as the speed of events overtook the ability of diplomats (who were used to a much more gradual course that gave them time in which to operate) to respond effectively. During the war, the British demonstrated the power granted by their control of the telegraph network, as they cut the Germans off from easy contact with other regions, especially America. This gave Britain a vital edge in shaping the interpretation of the conflict, one that helped swing the United States firmly into their camp.

Yet as vital an advantage communications control was, it was a reflection of British power at its zenith. Even before the start of the war, radio threatened to break the British monopoly on telegraphy. Moreover, by the end of the war the British faced a rival of even greater wealth: the United States, which used the new technology to erode Britain's dominance in telecommunications. The adoption of shortwave in the 1920s ended British hegemony, while the Second World War saw the British bequeath their position as the dominant power in global communications to the United States, during a conflict in which communications played a decisive role in the Allied victory over the Axis powers.

If there is a complaint to be lodged against this generally excellent book, it is that while Headrick does an excellent job of explaining the impact of telecommunications during the world wars, he rarely demonstrates how telecommunications facilitated political control in peacetime. It would have been insightful to examine episodes from the early years of telecommunications revealed its power and how such examples altered views towards the burgeoning new technology. Yet this is a minor quibble. Well researched and clearly written, Headrick offers a great introduction to the development of the global telecommunications network in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and its role in international politics, one that should be read by anyone seeking to understand the role of technology in shaping political power.

A must for historians of telecommunications
An excellent and well researched book. It contains a wealt of information on the early years of the telegraph system as well as a valuable cross reference guide for further reading. The story line of intrigue and espionage is also interesting to cypher enthusiasts leading to the Enigma machine and Bletchley Park. The rise of power of the submarine telegraph companies and the dominance of Great Britain and the resulting control of data in the First World War are of lasting interest.