Signor Marconi's Magic Box: The Most Remarkable Invention of the 19th Century & the Amateur Inventor Whose Genius Sparked a Revolution (Da Capo Press edition)
One hundred years after the historic first transatlantic radio transmission, the extraordinary and often bizarre story of an amateur inventor and his "magic box". The world at the turn of the twentieth century was in the throes of "Marconi-mania"-brought on by an incredible invention that no one could quite explain, and by a dapper and eccentric figure (who would one day win the newly minted Nobel Prize) at the center of it all. At a time when the telephone, telegraph, and electricity made the whole world wonder just what ...
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One hundred years after the historic first transatlantic radio transmission, the extraordinary and often bizarre story of an amateur inventor and his "magic box". The world at the turn of the twentieth century was in the throes of "Marconi-mania"-brought on by an incredible invention that no one could quite explain, and by a dapper and eccentric figure (who would one day win the newly minted Nobel Prize) at the center of it all. At a time when the telephone, telegraph, and electricity made the whole world wonder just what science would think of next, the startling answer had come in 1896 in the form of two mysterious wooden boxes containing a device one Guglielmo Marconi had rigged up to transmit messages "through the ether. " It was the birth of the radio, and no scientist in Europe or America, not even Marconi himself, could at first explain how it workedit just did. And no one knew how far these radio waves could travel, until 1903, when a message from President Theodore Roosevelt to the king of England flashed from Cape Cod to Cornwall clear across the Atlantic. Here is a rich portrait of the man and his era-and a captivating tale of science and scientists, business and businessmen. There are stories of British blowhards, American con artists-and Marconi himself: a character par excellence, who eventually winds up a virtual prisoner of his worldwide fame and fortune.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine dust jacket. 0306812754. International orders may require additional postage.; Full number line. First Da Capo Press Printing.; 336 pages.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 0306812754. First printing. Remainder mark on top edge, else fine in a very near fine (short closed edge tear at the top of the rear panel) dust jacket.
