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Lightning Beneath the Sea: The Race to Wire the World and the Dawn of the Information Age
The thrilling story of the nineteenth century’s moonshot: An Atlantic–spanning telegraph cable that created the global village and changed the world.
In 1854, the American entrepreneur Cyrus Field set out to lay a 2,000–mile telegraph cable across the Atlantic. Nothing like it had ever been attempted, and Field knew nothing about electricity, telegraphy, ships, or oceans. But he believed that wiring the world for near–instantaneous communication would bring about peace on Earth. After enduring years of global scorn, catastrophic failures, staggering losses, and brushes with death, Field would finally lay his great cable in 1866 and usher in the global information age—still undergirded by hundreds of that original cable’s descendants—as we know it.
Lightning Beneath the Sea is an unforgettable tale of radical vision, unwavering determination, and triumph against overwhelming odds, as Field and a scientific dream team—including Samuel Morse, a young Lord Kelvin, and Michael Faraday—battled epic storms, freak accidents, industrial sabotage, and even the enmity of Abraham Lincoln. From acclaimed author James M. Tabor, Lightning Beneath the Sea is the gripping account of an epochal achievement.
In 1854, the American entrepreneur Cyrus Field set out to lay a 2,000–mile telegraph cable across the Atlantic. Nothing like it had ever been attempted, and Field knew nothing about electricity, telegraphy, ships, or oceans. But he believed that wiring the world for near–instantaneous communication would bring about peace on Earth. After enduring years of global scorn, catastrophic failures, staggering losses, and brushes with death, Field would finally lay his great cable in 1866 and usher in the global information age—still undergirded by hundreds of that original cable’s descendants—as we know it.
Lightning Beneath the Sea is an unforgettable tale of radical vision, unwavering determination, and triumph against overwhelming odds, as Field and a scientific dream team—including Samuel Morse, a young Lord Kelvin, and Michael Faraday—battled epic storms, freak accidents, industrial sabotage, and even the enmity of Abraham Lincoln. From acclaimed author James M. Tabor, Lightning Beneath the Sea is the gripping account of an epochal achievement.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published June 9, 2026
About the author
James M. Tabor
9 books55 followersJames M. Tabor is the author of six books, including the award-winning Forever on the Mountain and best-selling Blind Descent. A creator of the History Channel’s Journey to the Center of the World, he has written for Time, Smithsonian, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and others. He lives in Waitsfield, Vermont.
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March 18, 20263⭐
Curiosity had me reaching for this one to learn more about the Great Transatlantic Telegraph Cable!
Author James M. Tabor’s deeply researched novel highlights the Dream Team involved in this 12-year undertaking, the 4 disastrous failures they experienced, and the visionary behind this historical feat.
Having never heard of Cyrus Field before, I wondered how a man who changed our history so dramatically could disappear so quickly. Field always believed that he could usher in a new age of world peace with this linking cable…if he could only see what he’s achieved!
I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting this type of read and I skipped many sections that didn’t hold my interest. I’ll still thinking about the author’s claim that 98% of our information travels on 600 direct descendants of Field’s first cable. I’m left with the reminder that we never know how long and how far the ripples of our influence are felt.
If you are looking for a meatier read, an in-depth look at this undertaking, this book is for you!
I was gifted this copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.
Curiosity had me reaching for this one to learn more about the Great Transatlantic Telegraph Cable!
Author James M. Tabor’s deeply researched novel highlights the Dream Team involved in this 12-year undertaking, the 4 disastrous failures they experienced, and the visionary behind this historical feat.
Having never heard of Cyrus Field before, I wondered how a man who changed our history so dramatically could disappear so quickly. Field always believed that he could usher in a new age of world peace with this linking cable…if he could only see what he’s achieved!
I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting this type of read and I skipped many sections that didn’t hold my interest. I’ll still thinking about the author’s claim that 98% of our information travels on 600 direct descendants of Field’s first cable. I’m left with the reminder that we never know how long and how far the ripples of our influence are felt.
If you are looking for a meatier read, an in-depth look at this undertaking, this book is for you!
I was gifted this copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.
June 13, 2026
I am grateful to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoy books about overlooked or under-appreciated aspects of history. Great achievements by those famous or at least well-known in their time. Today they are mostly forgotten, over-shadowed by others. or for whatever reason their achievements little acknowledged. This book is about one of those people. The world knows who was the first to do many things: climb the highest mountain, communicate using a telephone, fly across the Atlantic, walk on the moon. We don’t know how history with treat high-achievers of today, particular those founders and leaders of technology companies. Undoubtable these titans of science and technology have achieved much; but they did not do it alone. The wonderful quote:
"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants…”
is as relevant today as it was when said by Isaac Newton in 1675 ( although with much earlier medieval roots).
One whose shoulders are stood on by today’s technology greats today is Cyrus Field. The man who is responsible for laying a subsea cable from the Old World to the New World, allowing fast communications in a time when a letter from Europe to the Americas took weeks by sea. Today’s generation of undersea cables, albeit now using fibre-optic technology, carry the vast majority of the data that travels around the world, with the small remainder transmitted by satellite. Technology companies spend billions on these cables, as do military and intelligence establishments. Yet, the pioneer of this technology is all but forgotten today. This book is his story. His name should be better known. This is a fine book that I thoroughly enjoyed and will be recommending to many.
The book begins by describing the magnitude of the challenge facing Field. Land-based telegraph systems were commonplace. Europe has telegraph systems, including short sections under shallow bodies of water. To traverse the Atlantic Ocean, for example from Ireland to Newfoundland is some two thousand miles. A seabed communication cable would connect land-based networks on either side of the Atlantic. Such a cable would need to lie on the deep ocean floor, an environment then unknown and mysterious. An environment of extremely high pressure, very low temperature, unknown topography and little known ocean currents. Constructing a cable, not only to convey an electrical signal, but also to withstand these conditions was a huge challenge. Field also needed to find a ship capable of laying the cable; slowly, carefully in unpredictable Atlantic seas. He found one, a new-build with an engine for propulsion instead of sails. And he needed a man capable of captaining such a ship. Somehow, over a decade of technical failure, financial problems, company disunity and numerous other challenges, Field perseveres. The author asks why did Field keep going for over a decade when many others would have given up ? He suggests:
“The best way to understand Field's fame may be through his faith.
He was the deeply devout son of a famous minister. God had been like a member of his family when he was growing up…”
To achieve success, Field, who made his fortune in the paper business, would need to assemble a scientific and engineering ‘dream team’ arguably unmatched by any such group before or since. Names that are far better known today than Field himself, indeed world famous, respected, immortalised. Kelvin, Faraday, Morse, Brunel to name a few. Field was a stranger to the world these men inhabited, but his vision seemed to resonate, he seemed to attract kindred spirits. The author takes the time to recount how Field managed to keep his all-star team of overachievers moving in the same directions. Not all but most of them !
Beyond the technical challenges, Field had to address numerous financial and political challenges, engaging with leaders at the highest echelons of government and business in the United States and Great Britain. Interestingly by the time Field achieved success his team of experts and financial backers were largely British. During his quest, his name became well-known to numerous US Presidents, Great British Prime Ministers and one long-reigning Queen.
The author presents an astonishing tale of achievements, driven by a man with little technical knowledge but with abundant ambition, tenacity and resilience. Skills required to organise his team and convince the powers-that-be of the benefits of his vision. Financial and military benefits with also a higher aspiration; one nevertheless genuine. Field and some of his backers sincerely believed that wiring the world would usher in a new age of peace through communication and prosperity. I think the author provides a compelling viewpoint as he reflects on Field’s vision.
“In hindsight this conviction may appear fanciful and outlandish, and perhaps as a result, it has been largely overlooked by history. But just as much as science and engineering and profit, that other motive—peace on earth—is crucial to any understanding of Field's achievement.”
It is easy to scoff at such a humanitarian objective, but early in the US Civil War, Great Britain came close to becoming an active participant. President Lincoln remarked to his Secretary of State. “…one war at a time”. The Times of London got it exactly right when it declared:
”We nearly went to war with America because we had not a telegraph across the Atlantic."
After the Introduction, which draws the reader into the extent of this momentous undertaking, the author returns to earlier times for Field. A man who has made his fortune in unrelated business activity and retired at the age of 35 in New York in the 1850s. Wealthy, but missing the excitement and risk of the business world. The author also provides context of the mid-19th century geo-political world and why transoceanic undersea cable might be worth pursuing. Interestingly the impetus to a large extent comes from Great Britain, in those day an empire with colonies and influence on a global scale. The United States was inward-looking, its vast territory still being developed, including a land based telegraph network.
The author leads us through how Field founds a new company for his venture and sets about to build his team, a gathering of some of the finest minds of the day. A who’s-who of late 19th Century gifted, great and powerful men. Scientists and engineers. Isambard Kingdom Brunel provided knowledge of engineering major projects, including shipping and a unique vessel that had the potential to carry and deploy an oceanic cable. Lord Kelvin, later knighted for his role in the project, plays a role with his knowledge of electricity, a science in its infancy. Samuel Morse is an early participant, a colourful character, skilled, foremost in telegraphy. Michael Faraday, the father of electrical engineer was involved, as was Matthew Fontaine Maury, the leading expert in oceanography. All key players without whom it is unlikely Field would have been successful.
The author explains the many issues Field and his team addressed. Solutions to problems of sciences that were at the time unknown or in their infancy. Fascinating stories of discovery, invention and innovation. organisation, courage, strength and determination. The adjectives just keep coming ! Battling not just the physical world, but also government bureaucracy, business competitors, pessimists and naysayers.
Field initially has some success with small-scale undersea cable laying in Newfoundland.
What then followed was the far more ambitious attempt to lay a functioning and reliable Atlantic Ocean subsea cable. This is the heart of the book, a multi-faceted tale of company building, science, technology, publicity and finance. Over many years, Field experiences limited success, unmitigated failure, revival, rehabilitation and finally after a decade of trying, finally a functional and reliable communication system between Europe and the United States. The people present who carried out this work, from manual labourers to esteemed scientists , all who had endured discomfort and risked their lives at sea, understood the magnitude of what they had done.
“Every man among them fully understood that he was present at one of the great events of history. The power of that dissolved barriers of nationality and prejudices of class…(they)…felt their hearts touched in ways they never had been and never would be again…”
The author captures the human feelings expressed in numerous written accounts by the participants. Utmost seemed to be joy and pride in their achievement. And perhaps for Field, a somewhat modest man, quiet satisfaction and well-needed relief. After the initial test transmissions across the Atlantic came historic messages. From Queen Victoria to the President of the United States:
“The Queen congratulates the President on the successful completion of an undertaking which she hopes may serve as an additional bond of union between the United States and England.”
President Andrew Johnson replied from the White House:
“The President of the United States acknowledges with profound gratification the receipt of Her Majesty's dispatch, and cordially reciprocates the hope that the cable that now unites the Eastern and the Western hemispheres may serve to strengthen and perpetuate peace and amity between the Government of England and the Republic of the United States.”
At the centre of the story is a man with undoubted qualities, but also flaws. By the standards of today, a poor father and distant husband. Selfish, obsessed, arrogant, slightly deluded but nevertheless a visionary, who managed to realise his dream. The author doesn’t dwell on these unbecoming aspects, but presents the historical facts and allows the reader to draw their own conclusion.
The aftermath in some way explains why the name Field is largely unknown today. The book concludes with a bitter-sweet Epilogue. He payed off all his debts, as he had twice before in his business life and goes on to live for another quarter-century. The author remarks on his legacy:
“Unlike many great innovators of his age—Watt, Morse, Bell, Edison, and others—Field died not just poor but almost penniless. History is written by the winners…and the great winners of history tend to be rich. Such people leave their names on universities, museums, hospitals, foundations, statues, memorials”
This is a fine book. A compelling adventure of science, finance, politics and the natural world of remote seas and an unknown deep-ocean seafloor. Also a wonderful analysis on what makes a man, already wealthy and respected, undertake such an adventure. What keeps him going for over a decade, and what happens next. One cannot help but wonder about today’s equivalents. People of great vision, undoubted skill and destiny; but how do they compare with Cyrus Field, a man whose name they may not even know. I wish the publishers and author the very best success with this book.
I enjoy books about overlooked or under-appreciated aspects of history. Great achievements by those famous or at least well-known in their time. Today they are mostly forgotten, over-shadowed by others. or for whatever reason their achievements little acknowledged. This book is about one of those people. The world knows who was the first to do many things: climb the highest mountain, communicate using a telephone, fly across the Atlantic, walk on the moon. We don’t know how history with treat high-achievers of today, particular those founders and leaders of technology companies. Undoubtable these titans of science and technology have achieved much; but they did not do it alone. The wonderful quote:
"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants…”
is as relevant today as it was when said by Isaac Newton in 1675 ( although with much earlier medieval roots).
One whose shoulders are stood on by today’s technology greats today is Cyrus Field. The man who is responsible for laying a subsea cable from the Old World to the New World, allowing fast communications in a time when a letter from Europe to the Americas took weeks by sea. Today’s generation of undersea cables, albeit now using fibre-optic technology, carry the vast majority of the data that travels around the world, with the small remainder transmitted by satellite. Technology companies spend billions on these cables, as do military and intelligence establishments. Yet, the pioneer of this technology is all but forgotten today. This book is his story. His name should be better known. This is a fine book that I thoroughly enjoyed and will be recommending to many.
The book begins by describing the magnitude of the challenge facing Field. Land-based telegraph systems were commonplace. Europe has telegraph systems, including short sections under shallow bodies of water. To traverse the Atlantic Ocean, for example from Ireland to Newfoundland is some two thousand miles. A seabed communication cable would connect land-based networks on either side of the Atlantic. Such a cable would need to lie on the deep ocean floor, an environment then unknown and mysterious. An environment of extremely high pressure, very low temperature, unknown topography and little known ocean currents. Constructing a cable, not only to convey an electrical signal, but also to withstand these conditions was a huge challenge. Field also needed to find a ship capable of laying the cable; slowly, carefully in unpredictable Atlantic seas. He found one, a new-build with an engine for propulsion instead of sails. And he needed a man capable of captaining such a ship. Somehow, over a decade of technical failure, financial problems, company disunity and numerous other challenges, Field perseveres. The author asks why did Field keep going for over a decade when many others would have given up ? He suggests:
“The best way to understand Field's fame may be through his faith.
He was the deeply devout son of a famous minister. God had been like a member of his family when he was growing up…”
To achieve success, Field, who made his fortune in the paper business, would need to assemble a scientific and engineering ‘dream team’ arguably unmatched by any such group before or since. Names that are far better known today than Field himself, indeed world famous, respected, immortalised. Kelvin, Faraday, Morse, Brunel to name a few. Field was a stranger to the world these men inhabited, but his vision seemed to resonate, he seemed to attract kindred spirits. The author takes the time to recount how Field managed to keep his all-star team of overachievers moving in the same directions. Not all but most of them !
Beyond the technical challenges, Field had to address numerous financial and political challenges, engaging with leaders at the highest echelons of government and business in the United States and Great Britain. Interestingly by the time Field achieved success his team of experts and financial backers were largely British. During his quest, his name became well-known to numerous US Presidents, Great British Prime Ministers and one long-reigning Queen.
The author presents an astonishing tale of achievements, driven by a man with little technical knowledge but with abundant ambition, tenacity and resilience. Skills required to organise his team and convince the powers-that-be of the benefits of his vision. Financial and military benefits with also a higher aspiration; one nevertheless genuine. Field and some of his backers sincerely believed that wiring the world would usher in a new age of peace through communication and prosperity. I think the author provides a compelling viewpoint as he reflects on Field’s vision.
“In hindsight this conviction may appear fanciful and outlandish, and perhaps as a result, it has been largely overlooked by history. But just as much as science and engineering and profit, that other motive—peace on earth—is crucial to any understanding of Field's achievement.”
It is easy to scoff at such a humanitarian objective, but early in the US Civil War, Great Britain came close to becoming an active participant. President Lincoln remarked to his Secretary of State. “…one war at a time”. The Times of London got it exactly right when it declared:
”We nearly went to war with America because we had not a telegraph across the Atlantic."
After the Introduction, which draws the reader into the extent of this momentous undertaking, the author returns to earlier times for Field. A man who has made his fortune in unrelated business activity and retired at the age of 35 in New York in the 1850s. Wealthy, but missing the excitement and risk of the business world. The author also provides context of the mid-19th century geo-political world and why transoceanic undersea cable might be worth pursuing. Interestingly the impetus to a large extent comes from Great Britain, in those day an empire with colonies and influence on a global scale. The United States was inward-looking, its vast territory still being developed, including a land based telegraph network.
The author leads us through how Field founds a new company for his venture and sets about to build his team, a gathering of some of the finest minds of the day. A who’s-who of late 19th Century gifted, great and powerful men. Scientists and engineers. Isambard Kingdom Brunel provided knowledge of engineering major projects, including shipping and a unique vessel that had the potential to carry and deploy an oceanic cable. Lord Kelvin, later knighted for his role in the project, plays a role with his knowledge of electricity, a science in its infancy. Samuel Morse is an early participant, a colourful character, skilled, foremost in telegraphy. Michael Faraday, the father of electrical engineer was involved, as was Matthew Fontaine Maury, the leading expert in oceanography. All key players without whom it is unlikely Field would have been successful.
The author explains the many issues Field and his team addressed. Solutions to problems of sciences that were at the time unknown or in their infancy. Fascinating stories of discovery, invention and innovation. organisation, courage, strength and determination. The adjectives just keep coming ! Battling not just the physical world, but also government bureaucracy, business competitors, pessimists and naysayers.
Field initially has some success with small-scale undersea cable laying in Newfoundland.
What then followed was the far more ambitious attempt to lay a functioning and reliable Atlantic Ocean subsea cable. This is the heart of the book, a multi-faceted tale of company building, science, technology, publicity and finance. Over many years, Field experiences limited success, unmitigated failure, revival, rehabilitation and finally after a decade of trying, finally a functional and reliable communication system between Europe and the United States. The people present who carried out this work, from manual labourers to esteemed scientists , all who had endured discomfort and risked their lives at sea, understood the magnitude of what they had done.
“Every man among them fully understood that he was present at one of the great events of history. The power of that dissolved barriers of nationality and prejudices of class…(they)…felt their hearts touched in ways they never had been and never would be again…”
The author captures the human feelings expressed in numerous written accounts by the participants. Utmost seemed to be joy and pride in their achievement. And perhaps for Field, a somewhat modest man, quiet satisfaction and well-needed relief. After the initial test transmissions across the Atlantic came historic messages. From Queen Victoria to the President of the United States:
“The Queen congratulates the President on the successful completion of an undertaking which she hopes may serve as an additional bond of union between the United States and England.”
President Andrew Johnson replied from the White House:
“The President of the United States acknowledges with profound gratification the receipt of Her Majesty's dispatch, and cordially reciprocates the hope that the cable that now unites the Eastern and the Western hemispheres may serve to strengthen and perpetuate peace and amity between the Government of England and the Republic of the United States.”
At the centre of the story is a man with undoubted qualities, but also flaws. By the standards of today, a poor father and distant husband. Selfish, obsessed, arrogant, slightly deluded but nevertheless a visionary, who managed to realise his dream. The author doesn’t dwell on these unbecoming aspects, but presents the historical facts and allows the reader to draw their own conclusion.
The aftermath in some way explains why the name Field is largely unknown today. The book concludes with a bitter-sweet Epilogue. He payed off all his debts, as he had twice before in his business life and goes on to live for another quarter-century. The author remarks on his legacy:
“Unlike many great innovators of his age—Watt, Morse, Bell, Edison, and others—Field died not just poor but almost penniless. History is written by the winners…and the great winners of history tend to be rich. Such people leave their names on universities, museums, hospitals, foundations, statues, memorials”
This is a fine book. A compelling adventure of science, finance, politics and the natural world of remote seas and an unknown deep-ocean seafloor. Also a wonderful analysis on what makes a man, already wealthy and respected, undertake such an adventure. What keeps him going for over a decade, and what happens next. One cannot help but wonder about today’s equivalents. People of great vision, undoubted skill and destiny; but how do they compare with Cyrus Field, a man whose name they may not even know. I wish the publishers and author the very best success with this book.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I hate science (and engineering!). Mostly, it is because I'm not smart enough to understand it the vast majority of the time. So, I decided to read Lightning Beneath the Sea by James Tabor for two reasons. First, that is just a killer title. Second, the blue on the cover truly mesmerized me. I hoped that those two things might get me engaged enough to enjoy it.
As usual, I am a ridiculous person because Tabor's book is absolutely fantastic without the cover or the title. He tells the story of Cyrus Field. Oh, you never heard of him? That would be the point. A lot of people have not, including yours truly. There are various reasons why his name slipped from history, but I can tell you it is not because he led a boring life. I will avoid spoilers, but this book follows his attempts (yes, plural) to place a telegraph wire across the Atlantic Ocean. It still sounds insane even now.
Tabor completely understands the assignment. He keeps the narrative moving at a brisk pace. He focuses on the people and uses the science as the challenge to these people. There are triumphs, failures, backstabs, ocean storms, and everything else you can think of. Tabor even explained the science/engineering well enough that even I (mostly) understood it. If that's not enough of a recommendation, I'm not sure what else I could say. I'd recommend this one to anyone looking for a great story.
(This book was provided as a review copy by W. W. Norton.)
As usual, I am a ridiculous person because Tabor's book is absolutely fantastic without the cover or the title. He tells the story of Cyrus Field. Oh, you never heard of him? That would be the point. A lot of people have not, including yours truly. There are various reasons why his name slipped from history, but I can tell you it is not because he led a boring life. I will avoid spoilers, but this book follows his attempts (yes, plural) to place a telegraph wire across the Atlantic Ocean. It still sounds insane even now.
Tabor completely understands the assignment. He keeps the narrative moving at a brisk pace. He focuses on the people and uses the science as the challenge to these people. There are triumphs, failures, backstabs, ocean storms, and everything else you can think of. Tabor even explained the science/engineering well enough that even I (mostly) understood it. If that's not enough of a recommendation, I'm not sure what else I could say. I'd recommend this one to anyone looking for a great story.
(This book was provided as a review copy by W. W. Norton.)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Ever since I read Susan Casey’s The Underworld, I’ve been searching for that high. A book that is full of interesting information, larger than life characters, and a high stakes true story. Lightning Beneath The Sea appeared to be a follow on in that tradition. It did have all three of those things, and I enjoyed reading it, but it didn’t quite achieve the same greatness that Casey did.
Lightning Beneath the Sea tells the story of Cyrus Field, an American Businessman who, after a chance meeting, became obsessed with laying the first transatlantic submarine cable. It took him over a decade, most of his considerable fortune, and four tries.
There are a lot of bits of the story that are hang on the edge of your seat, and some of the characters (Wildman Whitehouse) are indeed larger than life, but the author devotes the same care and attention to Field’s many trips across the Atlantic, and other minutiae that are more historically relevant than narratively compelling, which makes the pacing stop and go, and prevents this book from being a truly riveting read. If you are already interested in this history, you’ll likely enjoy this book, but I’m not sure it will make a convert out of an ambivalent reader.
I received an advance copy in exchange for this honest review.
Lightning Beneath the Sea tells the story of Cyrus Field, an American Businessman who, after a chance meeting, became obsessed with laying the first transatlantic submarine cable. It took him over a decade, most of his considerable fortune, and four tries.
There are a lot of bits of the story that are hang on the edge of your seat, and some of the characters (Wildman Whitehouse) are indeed larger than life, but the author devotes the same care and attention to Field’s many trips across the Atlantic, and other minutiae that are more historically relevant than narratively compelling, which makes the pacing stop and go, and prevents this book from being a truly riveting read. If you are already interested in this history, you’ll likely enjoy this book, but I’m not sure it will make a convert out of an ambivalent reader.
I received an advance copy in exchange for this honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Fascinating story
I think the book had a number of very strong points. The biographies were vivid, bringing the characters to life. I liked the conversational tone of the book and how Tabor was able to communicate his enthusiasm for the subject matter. He actually made a book about an undersea cable fascinating and difficult to put down. I thought that the list of characters up front was very useful and the visuals were great. Translating money from historical values to today’s was very helpful. I did find however, at times, too much detail. However, I enjoyed the book and these did not affect my rating. Thank you to Edelweiss and W. W. Norton for the digital review copy.
I think the book had a number of very strong points. The biographies were vivid, bringing the characters to life. I liked the conversational tone of the book and how Tabor was able to communicate his enthusiasm for the subject matter. He actually made a book about an undersea cable fascinating and difficult to put down. I thought that the list of characters up front was very useful and the visuals were great. Translating money from historical values to today’s was very helpful. I did find however, at times, too much detail. However, I enjoyed the book and these did not affect my rating. Thank you to Edelweiss and W. W. Norton for the digital review copy.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews