In an illuminating study that blends diplomatic, military,
technology, and business history, Jonathan Reed Winkler shows how
U.S. officials during World War I discovered the enormous value of
global communications.
At the outbreak of war in 1914, British control of the cable
network affected the Americans' ability to communicate
internationally, and the development of radio worried the Navy
about hemispheric security. The benefits of a U.S. network became
evident during the war, especially in the gathering of
intelligence. This led to the creation of a peacetime intelligence
operation, later termed the "Black Chamber," that was the
forerunner of the National Security Agency.
After the war, U.S. companies worked to expand network service
around the world but faced industrial limitations. Focused on
security concerns, the Wilson administration objected to any
collaboration with British companies that might alleviate this
problem. Indeed, they went so far as to create a radio monopoly and
use warships to block the landing of a cable at Miami.
These efforts set important precedents for later developments
in telephony, shortwave radio, satellites--even the internet. In
this absorbing history, Winkler sheds light on the early stages of
the global infrastructure that helped launch the United States as
the predominant power of the century.
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