The Romance of Modern Invention; Trending Technology in 1902

The classic text on media and communication technology in 1902. Now fully restructured and edited by Lon Barfield in 2015.

In 1902 Archibald Williams channelled his enthusiasm about the rapid changes that were happening in media, communication and transport into this book. This is the voice of a technologist from the crucible of the information era.

His writing is clear and entertaining and covers the underlying technologies and the personal and social ramifications of the dawning world of global communications. Amongst the devices and topics he writes about are:

The Photophone (a lesser known project of Graham Bell's)
The political and social reasons why the French car industry overtook the British
The Telephonograph (or 'voicemail' as we now call it)
The workings of the first advertising service on the Hungarian Telephone system
The impact of mass electronic media on society

The inventions that he describes have become the building blocks of today's technology. A fascinating read for today's designers of digital media and communication systems, and anybody else with an interest in the history of technology.

This new edition from Bosko Books has been edited, re-ordered and provided with a foreword by Lon Barfield.