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2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
What We Think We Know Is Hooey Feb 06, 2010
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1QOIXPYIW7Y4L Quick 90 second review outlining the strengths and weaknesses, and a recommendation for Seth Shulman's provocative tale of the invention of the telephone.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 The writing style is a little messed up. Jan 25, 2010
THE TELEPHONE GAMBIT by Seth Shulman is 256 pages long. The book contains about a dozen illustrations, that is, photographs, reproductions of illustrations in lab notebooks and from patents. The issues disclosed are much the same as in A.Edward Evenson's book, THE TELEPHONE PATENT CONTROVERSY OF 1876. Please see my recent review (review of Jan. 2010) of Mr.Evenson's book, for an outline of the relevant issues.
Mr.Shulman's book is too autobiographical. Instead of focusing exclusively on Alexander Graham Bell and his family, attorneys, collaborators, and competitors, we are provided with continuing narratives of Mr. Shulman's day to day life as a journalist, with information about his friends. Mr.Shulman's book is unusual in that it is written in the first person. (These are complaints.)
Mr.Shulman's book adds tidbits of material that are not really relevant to the invention of the telephone, for example, we read about "the Hubbard's served generous helpings of roast beef, followed by . . . an almond-flavored meringue in custard sauce . . ."
The author (S. Shulman) is to be commended for spending a few pages devoted to A.Edward Evenson's book, THE TELPHONE PATENT CONSPIRACY OF 1876. Mr.Shulman is to be commended for giving credit where (arguably) credit is due.
This book is a real mosaic. Is it a children's book? Is it a diary of the author's day-to-day rituals? Is it a history book? Is it a fictionalized version of A.Edward Evenson's book. Mr.Shulman's book is all of these -- a literary mosaic.
To conclude, this book discloses way too much about Mr.Shulman's every day life, and he mixes this sort of commentary in with commentary about Alexander Graham Bell. Who cares what the author's office looks like? Who cares who the author's friends are? Who cares what the author had for lunch? I am not certain that this kind of writing style is an appropriate way to write a book about the invention of the telephone.
1 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Bell LIED Aug 29, 2009
Honore de Balzac said that "behind every great fortune is a crime", the telephone is no exception. From the comparison of the two drawings in the Gray 'caveat' and from Bell's journal it would be impossible that they could have come about totally by chance. Since Gray's drawing precedes Bell's by over a month it has to be assumed that Bell copied Gray's idea.
The timing of Bell's patent application, whether before or after Gray's caveat is irrelevant since Shulman proved that Bell did not have a working telephone at the time of the filing. Not only did he not have a working telephone, but when he did it wasn't based on the description in the application. Even though Bell was able to design a working telephone based on his own research (which follows closely that of Phillip Reis from ten years before) his model for the famous line "Watson, come here" was based on Gray's description in the 'caveat'.
The main question is, did Bell steal the idea for a working telephone and then later modify it in such a way as to be his own. Shulman who exhaustively researched this question, the only answer is YES. Reading through Bell's own notebooks, having spent months working on 'undulating current' he changes his experiments to include 'a wire in a liquid', an idea he had never mentioned before but was mentioned in Gray's caveat.
That Bell's instrument was then modified by others (including Thomas Edison) to make it commercially viable; and that Bell never again did any research or experimentation in this field again seems odd. Did Bell stay away from this work because of guilt that he had 'stolen' the idea that made him famous? If they did in reality come to their inventions independently, they should share the acclaim like Watson and Crick.
Zeb Kantrowitz
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Shulman's investigative process is an important part of this story Jun 28, 2009
I thought that Seth Shulman's description of how he assembled the facts and details in writing this book was important and fun. He plowed through dusty old records, used the Internet to his advantage, and regularly consulted colleagues as to his methods and questions. The result is a great story, wherein he destroys a myth, but I liked his descrption of the mechanics of his investigative process in making it all work.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
excellent and educational May 25, 2009
This book is an excellent read. It's both entertaining and informative. Since it is not written by a historian it covers the methods which those of us with degrees take for granted.
I'll be recommending it to all my students next year.
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