Alexander Graham Bell discovered the telephone, Chris Smith made ...
923433
Alexander Graham Bell discovered the telephone, Chris Smith made the Conversion Code a bible for us laymen who are still learning about Growth Hacker Marketing. Thank You Chris, you made a path for us to follow.
1381235
A good, basic book about Nikola Tesla.  For someone who knows little of this genius, this can serve as a wonderful introduction.  For anyone who has studied this man's life and work, this will not likely provide very much new information.  Still, the author is to be commended for the effort.  It is a national disgrace that Tesla is still virtually unknown to Americans.  He literally made the twentieth century possible.
2081460
Faraday, this guy is truly a pioneer in the stages of figuring out electricty and magnetism were the same.  James Maxwell figured out the equations for what Faraday had observed Faraday sadly didn't have any formal education and couldn't do that for himself.

This book is one of his Christmas lectures where he explains what physics knew at the time in laymen terms. A great add to any scientific collection.
3827228
This biography is a complete surprise.  As the title suggests, Alexander von Humboldt (yes!  inspiration for his eponymous cheese, Humboldt Fog!) kind of invented natural science.  However, what I didn't realize, beyond the fact that he was Darwin's idol, was that he was so influential upon Walden, Thoreau, President Jefferson, and one of the original thinkers about global warming, social and economic equality being a key ingredient to peace, and, hang it all, isotherms!  As all explorers seem to be, Humboldt was blessed with a vigorous physicality and intellectual capacity that allowed him to scale mountains and synthesize large amounts of information into novel theories.  Handsome, vital to almost the last, he was a giant amongst European exploers, thinkers, scientists and discoverers.  That he was insecure and an incurable social chatterbox both served and hindered him.  For a surprisingly entertaining erudite experience, pick this book up.  I really enjoyed it!
3611282
What a great book. Extremely well-written. I never knew that Fillmore was such a giant; and never knew all of that about Alexander Graham Bell. A great read.
2534264
A fun read, particularly for those of us of an age that remember when car phones were the most advanced communication tools available.  Story kept me guessing, and resolved very well.
1937171
Phil Lapsley has managed to take one of the most ubiquitous, commonplace domestic devices - the landline telephone - and shows us a world we didn't know existed in those wires that tied us all together  a underworld of explorers, mischief makers and, sometimes, criminals.

Through profiles of the pioneers of the phreaks, he reveals how they exploited the weaknesses of the telephone "long lines", the operators, and later, the automated switches.

This book is fascinating and engrossing!
2004948
It worked; and he's happy with it!!  The last phone in the case ended up buried using a bulldozer.  Granted, it was an "old" phone and case, flip phone.
3412674
At the very outset of the review I must warn that I am a techie so my review is biased. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It conveys the excitement of the really exciting invention made. The invention has revolutionized the electronic industry.
Noyce and Kilby are a couple of the few people who have revolutionized our lives but little mention is made of them. Instead our media and culture has ignored these people totally apart from a passing mention or a brief media hype. I would encourage everyone to read this book for the inspiration it provides.
677009
As a long time collector of old telephones I thoroughly enjoyed reading thru this book.  Also handy was the buyers guide in the back.
4404226
My son found this at a local telephone museum on sale. He decided he'd pay his money for the object. Inside is a book about Alexander Graham Bell and a model phone that you can make.

The model is extremely easy to put together and is made out of plastic. It is very light and falls apart easier than it should. A little bit of glue fixed it right up. But this is the reason I'd give it a low four stars.

The book is interesting and not a difficult read. I'd say it's probably at a fifth grade level reading level.

Enjoy.
4872399
This story of the subtle operation of class privilege, social discrimination, and bureaucratic stinginess in Britain in the early 19th C is a compelling read.  William Harrison's  brilliant engineering skills, and his persistence against the social barriers of his time enabled him to  succeed in designing the first clock that could withstand the severe jostling and humidity changes of the high seas. This achievement made the accurate determination of longitude possible.
4676834
I always enjoy reading about Tesla as most of us do.  He was a genius and ahead of his time for some of the inventions.  He was an Einstein with practical ideas - like the wireless transmission of electricity.  Just think of where we would be if he had had a financial backer or "angel".
3974777
Tony Dunbar could make the phone book interesting to read!!
486373
Joseph Banks? Ben Franklin? Herschel? Davy? Farraday? Marie Curie? Galileo? Einstein? Fulton? Edison?

A short list of geniuses who explored the frontiers of knowledge and technology to discover new universal principles or invent wonderful machines and devices which changed the world?  Any of them around today?

Well, if you read "Makers: The new Industrial Revolution" by Chris Anderson, you will answer an enthusiastic yes!...Like who?

Well, first of all Anderson himself, the former editor of Wired and co-founder of 3D Robotics (http://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/aviation/chris-andersons-expanding-drone-empire)...he's the kind of a guy who thinks up a gadget, makes a CAD design, then writes software and/or solders boards and uses a 3d printer of laser cutter to make the thing, crowdsources and social-finances the production, then sells the thing.

We are literally surrounded by geniuses - Elon Musk,Jack Ma, Robert Kearns, Jay Rogers and hundreds more who are dreaming up stuff and using Kickstarter, Quirky and Etsy to finance their dreams and Alibaba or MFG.com or their own DIY gadgets to make them. DIY stuff is available at starter prices: Autodesk 123Design CAD is free, laser 2d cutting is dirt cheap at Ponoko.com, a simple basic 3D printer is available for around $1000 (sorry, won't do a gun)...

Buy the book - read it - take your dream gadget and give it a shot...no joke.
2757314
A very short biography of Alan Turing, most well-known as the scientist who was key in the British effort to "unlock[..] the Enigma", the German coding machine. David Boyle's book begins with the 2013 "Statutory Pardon of Alan Mathison Turing", in fact there was a veritable rush to effect a posthumous "statutory pardon to one of Britain's greatest scientists" and recognition of him by the British government. "Present in the chamber to hear him were members of Turing's family, and at least one former colleague of his at the top secret code breaking establishment at Bletchly Park." A far cry from the events that lead to his suicide in 1954. Turing openly flaunted an 1885 bill criminalizing homosexuality and was finally sentenced to something like chemical castration. He likely committed suicide shortly afterwards. Most of the book is spent on following Turing from one scientific center and interest to another, from Oxford to Princeton back to London. As soon as there was interest in his theories and findings, he was on to the next breakthrough. I often had to interrupt and look up the theories Turing posited. "He ought perhaps to be remembered for his pioneering contribution to the very beginning of information technology."
4304585
In "Thunderstruck," the author Eric Larsen intertwines a "standard" history -- Marconi's commercialization of wireless telegraphy -- with a lurid one -- the mystery of the life of Dr. Hawley Crippen and mysterious disappearance of his opera wannabee wife, Belle Elmore. Larsen bounces back and forth between the two tales, which overlap loosely in time. Marconi's story takes place mostly between 1895 (the year of his first demonstration of wireless communication at significant distances) and 1910. The Crippen story focuses mostly on the years preceding the critical year of 1910. Nevertheless, both stories are on a collision course, and the final denouement involves telegraphy and the way it resolved one important facet of the Crippen/Elmore case.

"Thunderstruck" is *not* historical fiction. Both stories are taken painstakingly from the newspapers, diaries, public files and other records of the day. This was a quite a relief to me, since I have a distrust of "histories" that have more than a little of the authors' reconstructions of important events. In this book, you will learn about the British cultural biases that made Marconi's work difficult, as well as of  Marconi's own obsessive, secretive, anti-social and egoistical temperament that more than once nearly derailed his venture. You'll be taken to Poldhu Station in Wales and to the North American stations on windswept Cape Cod and isolated, frigid Newfoundland. You'll accompany Marconi and his crew as they toil for months to set up the absurdly overpowered equipment that sent (or did it?) the series of dits that demonstrated Marconi's ability to send signals across the Atlantic. You'll experience the first breaking of "The Great Hush" and the greater loneliness that enveloped the world prior to the advent of long-range telegraphy and radio. You'll also thrill to the intimate details of the lives of mousy Dr. Crippen, his diva of a wife and their circle of theatrical friends. You'll learn a bit about homeopathy and allopathy, and learn how these "sciences" used lethal substances to treat disease. Throw in a few inspectors from Scotland Yard, a wily and discreet sea captain, pompous British scientists, an abandoned wife and a pre-WWI German spy, and you have the making of a fascinating reading experience.

"Thunderstruck" is fast-paced, informative and thrilling. By placing these two stories together, Larsen made both more interesting than they would have been alone. Bravo!

A word to those with weak stomachs: sections of the book are quite gory!