In an illuminating study that blends diplomatic, military, technology, and business history, Jonathan Reed Winkler shows how U.S. officials during World War I discovered the enormous value of global communications.

At the outbreak of war in 1914, British control of the cable network affected the Americans' ability to communicate internationally, and the development of radio worried the Navy about hemispheric security. The benefits of a U.S. network became evident during the war, especially in the gathering of intelligence. This led to the creation of a peacetime intelligence operation, later termed the "Black Chamber," that was the forerunner of the National Security Agency.

After the war, U.S. companies worked to expand network service around the world but faced industrial limitations. Focused on security concerns, the Wilson administration objected to any collaboration with British companies that might alleviate this problem. Indeed, they went so far as to create a radio monopoly and use warships to block the landing of a cable at Miami.

These efforts set important precedents for later developments in telephony, shortwave radio, satellites-even the internet. In this absorbing history, Winkler sheds light on the early stages of the global infrastructure that helped launch the United States as the predominant power of the century.

About the Author
Jonathan Reed Winkler is Associate Professor of History at Wright State University.

Awards
Winner of Paul Birdsall Prize 2010. Nominated for Douglas Dillon Award 2008 and Vincent P. DeSantis Prize 2009 and OAH Frederick Jackson Turner Award 2009 and Ellis W. Hawley Prize 2009 and William E. Colby Award 2009 and Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize 2009 and Robert Jervis and Paul Schroeder Best Book Award 2009 and Edgar S. Furniss Book Award 2008 and Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award 2009 and Sidney Edelstein Prize 2009 and Sally Hacker Prize 2009 and George Louis Beer Prize 2009 and Rachel Carson Prize & Ludwik Fleck Prize 2009 and William E. Colby Award 2010 and Sidney Edelstein Prize 2010 and Sidney Edelstein Prize 2011 and Ludwik Fleck Prize 2011.



Book Information
ISBN 9780674725775
Author Jonathan Reed Winkler
Format Paperback
Page Count 358
Imprint Harvard University Press
Publisher Harvard University Press