Overview

The single-wire telegraph revolutionized long distance communication but it was not the brainchild of one inventor, Samuel Morse. His colleagues and employees--specifically Ezra Cornell and Joseph Henry--made crucial contributions. Examining the careers of the three men and the key events, this book presents Morse as primarily a businessman and consolidator of ideas who, frequently in conflict with his associates, sought to present the telegraph as a uniform system under his sole imprimatur. The battle between Morse and Cornell over the invention of the magnetic relay was central to the drama. What emerges is a complex portrait of three ambitious and brilliant innovators and the age in which they lived.

Full Product Details

Author:   Kenneth B. Lifshitz
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.467kg
ISBN:  

9781476665597

ISBN 10:   1476665591
Pages:   344
Publication Date:   13 February 2017
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Notes on Abbreviations Preface Introduction Section I: Knickerbocker Tales  1. The American Experiment  2. SPAAM (The Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Arts and Manufactures)  3. T. Romeyn Beck  4. The Albany Academy  5. The Big Ditch  6. A Tale of Two Cities  7. Portrait Painter  8. The Man Who Sneezed So Singularly Section II: Henry’s Influence on Morse  9. The New, Old School 10. The Vision at Palmyra 11. Ghost Story 12. Wrap Artist 13. The American Achievement 14. Que Viva Mexico 15. Endless Debate 16. Quantity vs. Intensity 17. The Barnaby Mooer ­Side-Hill Plow 18. Catching Colt 19. Out of the “Fog” of Invention 20. The Plow in Maine 21. Sins of the Father Section III: The Madman and the Telegrapher 22. A Federal ­No-Show Job 23. Cable Problems 24. Big Confab at Little Relay 25. The Trouble with Fisher … 26. On the Third Floor of the Patent Office 27. The Burden of Big Science 28. Bartlett’s Contract 29. ­Cross-Cut! 30. A Fight Over Pole Insulators 31. Out of the Frying Pan Section IV: Relay Race 32. The Magnetic Telegraph Company 33. A Red Herring 34. The Mule Kicks Back 35. The State Fair 36. Raising Cash 37. When the Going Gets Tough … 38. … The Tough Go to Europe 39. Trompe l’œil 40. “The Telegraph for Dummies” 41. O’Reilly 42. Saxton Faxton’s ­Love-Hate Relationship 43. Organization Man 44. Crossing the Rubicon Section V: Prodigal 45. Audubon’s Laundry 46. Tit for Tat 47. An Indispensable Plague 48. The New ­York–Offing Line 49. Rebirth of a Notion Coda: King Edward of Kalamazoo Afterword Appendix A: Morse’s Deposition Appendix B: Questions Prepared for Professor Henry by Morse, 1839 Chapter Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

“The sections on Cornell are fascinating”—Carleton Mabee, Pulitzer Prize winning author and biographer of Samuel Morse; “This outstanding work, peppered with insightful details, is an extraordinary history based on fresh research about three colorful and controversial characters. An absorbing narrative to the very last page! Sure to be part of the library of every transportation and communication scholar.”—Michelle P. Figliomeni, President, Orange County Historical Society; “Lifshitz provides a delight-to-read examination of a pivotal event in the history of American technology. At many points he challenges accepted wisdom and offers new interpretations of the motivations of the actors and their actions”— Marc Rothenberg, former editor of the Joseph Henry Papers Project.

"The sections on Cornell are fascinating"""" - Carleton Mabee, Pulitzer Prize winning author and biographer of Morse."

The sections on Cornell are fascinating - Carleton Mabee, Pulitzer Prize winning author and biographer of Morse.

Author Information

Kenneth B. Lifshitz has lectured widely on such topics as the great chain across the Hudson and The Franklin Marble. Also a bass player, he has performed with local and regional symphony orchestras. He lives in the Catskill region of New York.

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