Masters of the word : how media shaped history, from the alphabet to the Internet / William J. Bernstein.
Bernstein, William J., author.
2013
P90 .B454 2013
Available Online

Linked e-resources

Linked Resource Online Access

Details

Title Masters of the word : how media shaped history, from the alphabet to the Internet / William J. Bernstein.
Author Bernstein, William J., author.
Edition First edition.
ISBN 9780802121387
9780802193445 (e-book)
Published New York : Grove Press, [2013]
Copyright ©2013
Language English
Description 1 online resource (359 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations, maps.
Call Number P90 .B454 2013
Dewey Decimal Classification 302.2309
Summary From the birth of writing in Mesopotamia to the technologies of today, this work documents the technology of media, a revolutionary tool that allowed rulers to extend their control far and wide, giving rise to the world's first empires. In this book the author chronicles the history of media, starting with the origin of writing thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia. The revolutionary tool gave rise to the world's empires and the birth of drama and democracy. But it is not just new communication technologies that have changed the world, it is access to them. Vernacular bibles gave rise to religious dissent, but it was only when the combination of cheaper paper and Gutenberg's printing press drove down the cost of books by 97 percent that the fuse of Reformation was lit. The Industrial Revolution allowed information to move faster and farther than ever before, though it concentrated power and enabled totalitarian governments. With the twenty-first century boom of the mobile Internet, control of media has again spread, and the world is both more connected and freer than ever before. -- From back cover.
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references (pages [341]-395) and index.
Access Note Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description Description based on print version record.
Available in Other Form Masters of the word : how media shaped history, from the alphabet to the internet.
Linked Resources Online Access
Record Appears in Online Resources > Ebooks
All Resources
Origins
The ABCs of democracy
Twelve tables, seven hills, and a few early Christians
Before Gutenberg
Punch and counterpunch
The captive press
With a machete in one hand and a radio in the other
The comrades who couldn't broadcast straight
The argus.

Browse Subjects

Show more subjects...

Statistics

from
to
Export