From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future - Hardcover

by Tom Wheeler (Author)

Network revolutions of the past have shaped the present and set the stage for the revolution we are experiencing today

In an era of seemingly instant change, it's easy to think that today's revolutions--in communications, business, and many areas of daily life--are unprecedented. Today's changes may be new and may be happening faster than ever before. But our ancestors at times were just as bewildered by rapid upheavals in what we now call "networks"--the physical links that bind any society together.

In this fascinating book, former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler brings to life the two great network revolutions of the past and uses them to help put in perspective the confusion, uncertainty, and even excitement most people face today. The first big network revolution was the invention of movable-type printing in the fifteenth century. This book, its millions of predecessors, and even such broad trends as the Reformation, the Renaissance, and the multiple scientific revolutions of the past 500 years would not have been possible without that one invention. The second revolution came with the invention of the telegraph early in the nineteenth century. Never before had people been able to communicate over long distances faster than a horse could travel. Along with the development of the world's first high-speed network--the railroad--the telegraph upended centuries of stability and literally redrew the map of the world.

Wheeler puts these past revolutions into the perspective of today, when rapid-fire changes in networking are upending the nature of work, personal privacy, education, the media, and nearly every other aspect of modern life. But he doesn't leave it there. Outlining "What's Next," he describes how artificial intelligence, virtual reality, blockchain, and the need for cybersecurity are laying the foundation for a third network revolution.

Front Jacket

It's easy to think that today's revolutions in communications, business, and many areas of daily life are unprecedented. The changes we experience nearly every day may be happening faster than those of the past, and on multiple fronts. But our ancestors at times were just as bewildered by rapid upheavals in what we now call "networks" the physical links that bind any society together.

In this fascinating book, Tom Wheeler vividly describes the two great network revolutions of the past and uses them to put in perspective the confusion, uncertainty, and excitement most people feel about changes happening now, changes that make up the third network revolution.

The first major network revolution was Gutenberg's invention of movable-type printing in the fifteenth century, which created the first mass-information economy. This book, its millions of predecessors, and history-shifting trends such as the Reformation, the Renaissance, and the scientific revolutions of the past 500 years would not have been possible without that one invention.

The second revolution came early in the nineteenth century with the inventions of the railroad and the telegraph. Never before had people been able to travel or communicate over long distances faster than a horse could gallop. Together, these two inventions compressed space and time, and in the process upended centuries of stability, transformed economies, and redrew the map of the world.

Wheeler contrasts these past revolutions with our experience today, when rapid-fire changes in networking are disrupting the nature of work, personal privacy, education, the media, and nearly every other aspect of modern life. The principal manifestation of this revolution--one that touches each of us directly and shapes both commerce and culture--is how we connect with each other. Our networks have always defined who we are, both economically and sociologically. Now, technology has delivered us into history's latest network revolution, changing everything it touches.

Outlining "what's next," Wheeler describes how artificial intelligence, virtual reality, blockchain, and the need for cybersecurity will prolong the third network revolution well into the future.

Author Biography

Before he became chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in 2013, Tom Wheeler started or helped found several companies offering new cable, wireless, and video communications services. A visiting fellow at Brookings, his previous books include Take Command: Leadership Lessons from the Civil War (Doubleday, 2000) and Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of how Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War (Harper Collins, 2006).