Alexander Graham Bell; The Life and Times of the Man Who Invented the Telephone

Grosvenor, Edwin S.; Wesson, Morgan; Bruce, Robert V. (foreword by)

ISBN 10: 0810940051 / ISBN 13: 9780810940055

Published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc, NY, 1997

About this Item

304pp.; including bibliographical references and index. Illustrated end pages. Textblock and binding is clean and tight. Six-inch scratch in the cloth of the rear board; lightly rubbed, unclipped dust jacket with light edge wear. A heavy volume, requiring additional postage charge. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall.

Seller Inventory # SJ5982

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Alexander Graham Bell; The Life and Times of the Man Who Invented the Telephone
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, NY
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810940051
• ISBN 13: 9780810940055
• Binding: Cloth
• Illustrator: Photographs
• Condition: Very Good+
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+
• Book Type: Hard Cover
• Seller catalogs:
  • American History/Americana
  • Technology

About this title

Synopsis

Edwin Grosvenor, Bell's great-grandson and founding editor of the art magazine Portfolio, joins forces with Emmy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Morgan Wesson to tell the dramatic story of the race to invent the telephone--and how Bell's patent for it would become the most valuable ever issued. 405 illustrations. 35 in color.

Reviews

Great inventors tend to become so closely identified with their most famous invention that their very lives become obscured. As this terse, admiring assessment of Bell's (18471922) life makes clear, the telephone--his greatest accomplishment and a leading invention of the 19th century--represented only one element in his long and restless career. He also devised the first practical phonograph and did important work on aviation in its infancy. This shy, amiable man also headed the National Geographic Society, was an outspoken proponent of civil rights, and worried publicly about the impact of technology on the environment. Grosvenor, Bell's great-grandson, and Wesson, a documentary filmmaker, offer a useful overview of Bell's professional achievements, succinct descriptions of his ideas, and a lively account of the telephone's impact on American society. The 405 illustrations (35 in color) offer a fascinating view of Bell's high-spirited family life and circle of friends, and of the early years of the telephone business. An effective marriage of text and photographs, and a succinct portrait of a decent man and a remarkable scientist. (Book-of-the-Month Club featured selection; History Book Club alternate selection) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.