Promotional Information

This well-researched and lucidly argued book will prove indispensable to specialists in the history of technology, journalism, and finance. -- Richard R. John, Columbia University

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction Why the Telegraph Was Revolutionary
1. "Here the Telegraph Came Forceably into Play"
2. "As a Telegraph for the People It Is a Signal Failure"
3. "There Is a Public Voracity for Telegraphic News"
4. "The Ticker Is Always a Treacherous Servant"
5. "Western Union, by Grace of FCC and A.T.&T."
Conclusion The Promise of Telegraphy
Chronology of the American Telegraph Industry
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index

About the Author

David Hochfelder is an assistant professor of history at The State University of New York, Albany.

Reviews

While offering new insights into the relationship between Western Union and Associated Press, Hochfelder's strongest contribution to the history of telegraphy is his analysis of wiring on financial markets and the subsequent spread of speculation and gambling fueled by private wires and telegraph ticker services. -- Daniel Wuebben MAKE: A Literary Magazine In The Telegraph in America, 1832-1920, David Hochfelder provides a taut and consistently intelligent history of the telegraph in American life. The book is notable for both its topical breadth-encompassing war, politics, business, journalism, and everyday life-as well as its focused, argument-driven chapters. -- Jeff Pooley New Books in Communications The author... develops nuanced analyses to the impact of telegraphy on upon American life. -- Alex Nalbach EH.Net Hochfelder's work is exemplary in its caution about mediator technology-specific claims to exceptionalism or determinism. This authoritative and persuasive book will remain an essential reference for scholars. -- David Goodman American Historical Review For a quick assessment of telegraphy's development and impact, this insightful book is hard to beat. -- Christopher H. Sterling Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly Heavily researched and very clearly presented. -- Menahem Blondheim Journal of American History