A Thread across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable - Brossura

Gordon, John Steele

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0743231279 ISBN 13: 9780743231275

Casa editrice: Simon & Schuster Australia, 2002

Riassunto

On 8 January 1815, British troops fought the Americans in the Battle of New Orleans. In a battle lasting half an hour, the British suffered casualties totalling 2,036. It remains the worst defeat in the whole long history of the British Army. But this terrible battle did not affect the outcome of the war - for one simple reason. Two weeks previously a peace treaty had been signed in the Netherlands.
Today, in a world in which news flashes around the globe in an instant, the sort of time lags experienced then are almost inconceivable. This is largely due to a group of Victorian entrepreneurs who fought to realize a dream that would revolutionize communication for ever. They wanted to lay an electric cable across the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The endeavour joined together the greatest minds on both sides of the ocean including Samuel Morse and Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
A THREAD ACROSS THE OCEAN tells the story of this epic struggle as stray vessels, whales, the fiercest storms the Atlantic had seen in many years, all proved obstacles in laying the cable. It was a struggle that would require a decade of effort and millions of dollars in capital as well as uncommon physical, financial, and intellectual courage. But when they succeeded these men had changed the world.

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Recensione

'Anyone in search of an inspiring narrative of entrepreneurial triumph would do well to read A THREAD ACROSS THE OCEAN ... Mr. Gordon's book is a masterly retelling of the cable adventure, filled with illuminating detail about the times and the people who made it happen' NEW YORK TIMES
'A sprightly and oddly engrossing mix of technological, financial and human history'
'(We should not be surprised that) this book is so joyously readable'
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
'Engaging account... Cyrus Field is a forgotton hero of the Industrial Revolution, brought splendidly back to life by Mr Gordon' WALL STREET JOURNAL
'Gordon, a business historian, skillfully and briskly recounts the saga of the transatlantic telegraph project...Gordon's evocation of Field's pioneering spirit will fascinate tech-history buffs' BOOKLIST
'An intriguing tale of inventors, tycoons, and an engineering feat that changed the course of economic history... Just the thing for the budding entrepreneur, and a pleasure for general readers as well' KIRKUS REVIEWS
'Powerfully written, this book about the venture manages to obtain a degree of perspective easily lost in the over-vaulting hyperbole that renders much popular science reportage banal' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
'A pacy and and thoroughly readable retelling of a truly epic feat' BRISTOL EVENING POST
'Engaging...A fascinating story' CONTEMPORARY REVIEW

L'autore

JOHN STEELE GORDON, noted business historian and contributor to THE NEW YORK TIMES, FORBES and M, is the author of THE GREAT GAME and HAMILTON'S BLESSING.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Simon & Schuster Australia
• Data di pubblicazione: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0743231279
• ISBN 13: 9780743231275
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 288