Great Indian Phone Book

by Robin Jeffrey

This title probes the whole universe of the mobile phone - from the contests of great capitalists and governments to control radio frequency spectrum to the ways ordinary people build the troublesome, addictive device into their daily lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, India

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

Robin Jeffrey studied first at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, obtaining a BA degree. He was awarded a D.Phil in modern Indian history by the University of Sussex, England, in 1973 and had previously worked as a school teacher in Chandigarh, India, for the Regional Institute of English and the Canadian University Service Overseas between 1967 and 1969. His first employment had been in 1963 as a sports writer for a daily newspaper in Canada.

Jeffrey took up a position as a Research Fellow at the Australian National University upon completion of his doctorate. He has taught there during two different periods. He taught politics at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, between 1979 and 2005, where he became a professor. In 2002, he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, having been previously elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1994.

Jeffrey is an Emeritus Professor of La Trobe University and the Australian National University. He chairs an advisory panel of the Australia India Institute in Melbourne, Australia. He has been a visiting research professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies, at the National University of Singapore, since 2009.

Reviews

[Tim Kadlec · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly thorough look at the mobile technology industry, and its impact, in India. Loads of fascinating examples of how mobile, even the most mundane capabilities of the technology, is significantly altering life throughout India. The research is exhaustive in detail, though at times a little repetitive.

Recommended for anyone interested in seeing how sometimes the simplest technologies can have the most profound impact on society.

[Imene MELLAL]

La Société financière internationale, du Groupe de la Banque mondiale, a déclaré le réseau de téléphonie mobile la «plus grande machine de tous les temps». Un historien et un anthropologue illustrent dans ce livre l’impact gigantesque des télécommunications dans la plus grande démocratie du monde.

[Jonathan Mckay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was short! Very informative, the information about gender and phone usage was very helpful, but the link between anecdotal stories and the broader picture didn't quite connect for me. I wish the book were 2-3x as long. I think Smart Mobs, a book referenced in the Great Indian Phone Book, is still a better primer on the subject, even though it does not focus on India.

[Drew Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever insight into the unexpected cultural disruption a device can deliver.