Wiring the World: The Social and Cultural Creation of Global Telegraph Networks

This unusual history focuses not only on those who advanced transatlantic cable communication, but also on those who harbored alternative ideas. They might seem peripheral, but such struggles determined the growth of cable technology, which in turn influenced world history. Filled with fascinating characters and new insight into defining events, this book recognizes globalization's diverse paths and close ties to business and politics.

Wiring the World is a cultural and social history that explores how the large Anglo-American cable companies won out over alternative visions. Through telegram prices, visions for world peace, scientific innovation, and the role of the nation-state, Simone M. Müller traces globalization's diverse paths and close ties to business and politics.