The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage is one of my favorites. It talks about how the telegraph brought near instantaneous communication and how that changed the world. He gives specific examples for finance, newspapers and even the law ("Can you approve a contract over the telegraph?") What I found most interesting: I read this book in the late 2000s/early 2010s and remember thinking "Wow! This is is EXACTLY what's happening now with newspapers. When was this written?" and seeing that the original copy came out in 1998!
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FROM THE SHARED SHELF · 2006–2026 SAMPLE
The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-line Pioneers
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