The Telephone and Its Several Inventors - by Lewis Coe (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

On March 7, 1876, the U.S. Patent Office issued to a young inventor named Alexander Graham Bell what is arguably the most valuable patent ever: entitled "improvements in telegraphy," in truth it secured for Bell the basic principles involved in a telephone.

On the same day that Bell filed his patent application, a caveat (a preliminary patent document) was filed by Elisha Gray. This coincidence sparked the first of many debates over whether Bell was the true inventor of the telephone. In the early 1860s Johann Phillipp Reis developed a version of the instrument, but his claims against Bell were hampered by the bungling of his lawyers in demonstrating his instrument in court. This work is a first look at the many men who developed the telephone and an examination of their claims against Bell's patent. A lay description of the phone is also provided, as well as a history of the development of the telephone system.

Review Quotes

"history buffs will find the book of interest. All levels"-Choice; "a labor of love...exceptionally well-researched, and contains a fine balance of technical and often startling historical information that grips the reader's interest well past bedtime"-Inventor's Digest; "excellent"-Dots and Dashes.

About the Author

Lewis Coe of Crown Point, Indiana, is also the author of Wireless Radio (1996) and The Telegraph (1993).