The Communications Miracle

This book describes the stage-by-stage creation, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, of one of the greatest of human artifacts - the world communication, broadcasting, and information technology systems which are essential to modern life and which will transform the ways in which people live and work in the future. This volume also identifies the roles played by individual innovators - from early scientists and mathematicians such as Faraday, Maxwell, and Hertz to the inventors of the transistor and microchip, digital techniques, and satellite and optical fiber systems - whose work can now be seen to have been of critical importance in the creative process. The significance of each innovative step is shown in terms of its impact - in scale and relevance - on today's communication world. A final chapter looks to the future and considers the ability of information technology and information superhighways to improve rural, urban, and national economies.