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Alexander Graham Bell: The Life and Times of the Man Who Invented the Telephone
Edwin Grosvenor, Bell's great-grandson and founding editor of the art magazine Portfolio, joins forces with Emmy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Morgan Wesson to tell the dramatic story of the race to invent the telephone--and how Bell's patent for it would become the most valuable ever issued. 405 illustrations. 35 in color.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1997
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156 people want to read
About the author
Edwin S. Grosvenor
47 books7 followersEdwin Grosvenor has been the Editor-in-Chief of American Heritage and Invention & Technology Magazines and President of American Heritage Publishing since 2007. He has published ten books and is best known for writing about his great-grandfather, Alexander Graham Bell, including two books and several magazine articles.
Early in his career, Grosvenor worked as a freelance photographer for National Geographic, completing 23 assignments in such countries as Belize, Canada, France, Greece, Iceland, Kenya, Spain, Tonga, Turkey and the U.S.
Grosvenor was President and Editor of Portfolio Magazine, the highest circulation fine arts publication in the U.S. at the time according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, and a nominee for the National Magazine Award for General Excellence.
Mr. Grosvenor also served as president and editorial director of Hotel Magazine Network, Inc., a publisher of magazines for business travelers with a total circulation of 330,000 copies distributed in the rooms of Marriott and Hyatt hotels.
From 1991 to 1995, Mr. Grosvenor was the publisher of the literary magazine, Current Books, which published such authors as Norman Mailer, Bill Moyers, Garrison Keillor, David McCullough, Anne Tyler, and Vaclav Havel.
Mr. Grosvenor obtained his MBA and his MS (Journalism) degrees from Columbia University, and his BA from Yale University.
Early in his career, Grosvenor worked as a freelance photographer for National Geographic, completing 23 assignments in such countries as Belize, Canada, France, Greece, Iceland, Kenya, Spain, Tonga, Turkey and the U.S.
Grosvenor was President and Editor of Portfolio Magazine, the highest circulation fine arts publication in the U.S. at the time according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, and a nominee for the National Magazine Award for General Excellence.
Mr. Grosvenor also served as president and editorial director of Hotel Magazine Network, Inc., a publisher of magazines for business travelers with a total circulation of 330,000 copies distributed in the rooms of Marriott and Hyatt hotels.
From 1991 to 1995, Mr. Grosvenor was the publisher of the literary magazine, Current Books, which published such authors as Norman Mailer, Bill Moyers, Garrison Keillor, David McCullough, Anne Tyler, and Vaclav Havel.
Mr. Grosvenor obtained his MBA and his MS (Journalism) degrees from Columbia University, and his BA from Yale University.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 1, 2017
This biography of Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) was written by his great grandson, Edwin S. Grosvenor. Edwin is the son of Melville Bell Grosvenor (1901-1982) who was president of the National Geographic Society. Melville’s father was Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor (1875-1966). He was considered the father of photojournalism and the first president of the National Geographic Society. Gilbert married Elsie May Bell (1878-1964), the daughter of Alexander Graham Bell. Bell was one of the founders of the National Geographic Society. Because of the Grosvenor family’s photography history, the book is loaded with photographs. The downside of listening to this book as an audiobook was missing out on the photographs.
Grosvenor explores Bell’s early life in Scotland and England including some of his childhood inventions. The author goes into depth about Bell’s teaching techniques to help the deaf children. He also examines Bell’s various inventions leading up to and including the telephone. He explains that Bell thoroughly understood the scientific theory of sound, acoustics and electricity. Bell had a wide range of interests and inventions in the areas of phonography, airplanes, solar power and metal detectors. He was a gifted teacher to the deaf. Bell taught Helen Keller to speak and arranged for Ann Sullivan to teach her. He also supported women’s suffrage, civil rights and warned about “greenhouse effect” of pollution. Bell felt the pollution of Edinburgh and London was a factor in the death of his brothers from Tuberculosis. This is only a brief list of the various interests of Bell. He was a most fascinating and brilliant man.
The book is well written and meticulously researched. The book is favorable toward Bell. Because the book is written by Bell’s great grandson there is more inside family information than there would otherwise normally be.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is six and half hours long. Donald Corren does an excellent job narrating the book. Corren is an actor and audiobook narrator.
Grosvenor explores Bell’s early life in Scotland and England including some of his childhood inventions. The author goes into depth about Bell’s teaching techniques to help the deaf children. He also examines Bell’s various inventions leading up to and including the telephone. He explains that Bell thoroughly understood the scientific theory of sound, acoustics and electricity. Bell had a wide range of interests and inventions in the areas of phonography, airplanes, solar power and metal detectors. He was a gifted teacher to the deaf. Bell taught Helen Keller to speak and arranged for Ann Sullivan to teach her. He also supported women’s suffrage, civil rights and warned about “greenhouse effect” of pollution. Bell felt the pollution of Edinburgh and London was a factor in the death of his brothers from Tuberculosis. This is only a brief list of the various interests of Bell. He was a most fascinating and brilliant man.
The book is well written and meticulously researched. The book is favorable toward Bell. Because the book is written by Bell’s great grandson there is more inside family information than there would otherwise normally be.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is six and half hours long. Donald Corren does an excellent job narrating the book. Corren is an actor and audiobook narrator.
March 11, 2019
This ended up being way more interesting than I had bargained for. Everyone knows he was the inventor of the modern day telephone. What I didn't fully appreciate was how he mastered an expertise in so many different fields which gave rise to his meaningful contributions in aviation, solar power, laser communication (through light waves - which would take another 100 years for science to prove out), the early Montessori movement (in education), and the environment (this guy was expressing concerns about human carbon-emissions and their potential to raise the Earth's temperature in 1917, almost 80 years before it became a "thing.") A concise yet detailed biography that's full of interesting surprises which collectively make for an entertaining quick-read.
August 20, 2020
A good friend recommended this book and it was amazing. A full glimpse into the journey of one of the most notorious inventors of the past century. He was involved in so many inventions and had such a curious spirit. Truly inspiring.
November 30, 2020
I wanted to read more non fiction in 2020, didn't really happen as this book is only my 2nd one...maybe in 2021. I was attracted to the life of Alexander Graham Bell not just because his roots are close to home here in Southern Ontario, but rather to know more about him. Knowing next to nothing other then the invention of the telephone I was intrigued to learn more.
The author is the great grandson of Bell which just added that extra spark. Beginning with Bell's early years in England and Scotland and progressing to his relocation to North America. I was surprised with all the different things he was involved with and the people he rubbed shoulders with. I don't recall any of this from history classes, especially how the telephone is the most valuable patent ever issued. The blurb above lists some of his other accomplishments.
It was a relatively quick read in that the audio was 6 1/2 hours long but it did pack a punch with not just his business adventures but personal life as well. Not just an entertaining listen but educational without being bogged down with too many details but a great look at the life of Alexander Graham Bell.
My audiobook was from my personal library via Audible.
The author is the great grandson of Bell which just added that extra spark. Beginning with Bell's early years in England and Scotland and progressing to his relocation to North America. I was surprised with all the different things he was involved with and the people he rubbed shoulders with. I don't recall any of this from history classes, especially how the telephone is the most valuable patent ever issued. The blurb above lists some of his other accomplishments.
It was a relatively quick read in that the audio was 6 1/2 hours long but it did pack a punch with not just his business adventures but personal life as well. Not just an entertaining listen but educational without being bogged down with too many details but a great look at the life of Alexander Graham Bell.
My audiobook was from my personal library via Audible.
January 28, 2023
Fascinating oversized book that probably sat on too many coffee tables without people even reading the captions of the large pictures in this massively informational book. As a long-time Ohio Bell/AT&T worker – most of my time spent as a leader of the Communications Workers of America – and the son of a phone company operator, this book was especially interesting to me. It exceeded my expectations and included far more text than I thought in this coffee table book.
Grosvenor and Wesson highlight the importance of our patent law, both for the protection of the telephone invention then later detailing the importance for air development and protecting the Wright Brothers. Bell had many fights over his inventions, especially with the large Western Union who tried to steal his invention with their considerable resources. Western Union was truly a national company with investment from JP Morgan, the Vanderbilt family and Rothschilds. While Bell’s eventual patent protected his monopoly for 16 years, Western Union violated the law and, to some surprise, David won against Goliath, securing him funds from the mammoth corporation and giving him 14 more years of patent protection. Later, Bell ended up with another fight with a company set up with a large number of politicians cut into the deal, but he again won protecting his invention in court. Still, he paid a price with the court battles and newspaper attacks.
Bell had no money but was rushed to invent the telephone to secure the cash needed to get married. This was at a time when many were working on inventions – Thomas Edison, German schoolteacher Philipp Reis with a crude telephone with limited sounds a decade before Bell’s successful invention, Elisha Gray with what the NYT’s termed “music by telegraph,” and Virginia dentist Mahlon Loomis creation of a device to send radio signals.
On Bell’s 29th birthday, he was informed his patent for the telephone would be issued – and this was urgently important because his lifetime wife, 18-year-old Mabel, agreed to marry him. The book is full of rich pictures, drawings, and handwritten letters that bring the text to life. A few months later, Bell introduced his invention at the International Centennial Exhibition. This was where the famous call with his assistant, Thomas Watson took place (Later, Watson invented many more things, including the telephone ringer and racked up 60 patents.) As a telephone worker, I always thought this was the highlight of that exhibition but the pictures in this book and the sharing of technical problems they had now made me realize that this was just one more invention being highlighted – and one much more modest than large equipment that was more attention getting.
Having his intention and patent was just the start of it. Securing the investment and building trust and literal connections was much more difficult. Two hundred telephones were in service a year later – for $20 a month for residents and double that for business customers. While telephone technology was improving, the spread of telephones was going slow. By 1879, there were fewer than 70,000 phones in the United States, including 825 in Cincinnati, and fewer overseas. While protecting his patents, AT&T continued to expand phones and doubling profits every year until 1885. Mostly wealthy urban dwellers and businesses had phones.
American Bell continued to be a good investment, but the company was held back because it paid out more than half of its profits to investors and had far less to expand. Other companies, usually under the name Home Telephone company, competed with AT&T and American Bell; the two companies merged in 1901. Direct dial, installed in the White House by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1901, expanded coverage even more. But competition in the progressive era brought on many companies – and so many lines in major towns. Pacific Bell Telephone president John Sabin created the party-line for ten and the pay phone, then called “nickel-in-the-slot in the 1890’s.
Ironically, it was the takeover of AT&T by industrialist JP Morgan that folded most independent phone companies into the giant corporation in 1913. Local competition was a thing of the past with long time telephone senior manager Theodore Vail getting his way under the mission of “universal service.” Shortly thereafter, the first coast to coast phone conversation took place with Bell and Watson again on the two ends of the phone, one in San Francisco and Bell in New York. Later, President Wilson called Vail, Bell, and Watson from the White House. In San Francisco’s Chinatown exchange, Manager Lu Kum Shu spoke in Chinese to Wong Sue in Boston. There are many pictures of these historic events. But long-distance calls were not cheap. In 1915, a three-minute telephone call from Toledo Ohio to New York City was $16.45.
Bell came close to inventing the phonography, something that Edison got credit and the money. He was part of creating the Dictaphone and later marketed it through another company. He turned much of his attention to the love of his life – his wife and his interest in teaching the deaf. Yet, the school he developed failed and his public fight against Edward M. Gallaudet over how to teach the deaf proved to further frustrate the inventor. Gallaudet taught sign while Bell thought that lipreading and speech therapy was the way to go.
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Bell had a unique childhood with a quirky dad and traveling through Europe and living in Germany, although the family did not speak German. Bell, then known as Aleck, was rejected by a woman he wanted to marry, setting him back for years. While wanting to be a musician, he went into educating the deaf, an interest he maintained for his life. It’s ironic that the man who brought voice over lines would have had a background in teaching people who were deaf.
Much of the second half of the book was devoted to Bell’s life back in Canada at a beautiful lake house, devoting much of his time to inventing the first flying machine to carry a person. His life seemed interesting, meeting with other inventors and having the time and money to explore other journeys. The author mentioned that inventor was absent-minded and was invited both Samuel Langley and Langley’s enemy, Simon Newcomb to visit his out-of-the-way home at the same time.
There was an interesting story of Bell’s work creating National Geographical Society and moving it to a membership model versus just selling a publication after first contributing to Science Magazine. It was also interesting to read about the formation of Telephone Pioneers – and Bell’s participation in the first convention in Boston in November 1911. As a young man working for Ohio Bell, it was the old people – in their 40’s and older – who were allowed to be members of the Pioneers to volunteer in the name of phone workers.
The book finished covering Bell in a soft way – with lots of pictures of him with his grandkids mixed in with pictures of his aviation experiments. The authors also mentioned Bell’s progressive bent opposing the Nova Scotia government when his long-time black butler was refused a room at a hotel due to his race and how he supported the right to vote “without qualification of education, sex, color, or property.” The last chapter covered his final years and funeral. It was mentioned that Bell, Edison, Write, and Henry Ford were now being replaced by more well-equipped research scientists at corporate labs of AT&T, Eastman Kodak, and General Electric.
With Mobel holding his hand and gently pleading, “Don’t leave me,” Bell passed away. His pine coffin was built in a Bell workshop. Shortly after, Mobel was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, died at 65 and buried on the same day a year late from her husband.
I wish the authors would have spoken more about Mr. Bell's progressive views and covered more about the workers of phone companies. It was interesting that it was mentioned that most operators had been men but changed to women and faced discrimination from AT&T including how they were fired if they married. It was also interesting that women could be linemen in the West but lacked that opening -- until just 50 years ago -- East of the Mississippi.
Grosvenor and Wesson highlight the importance of our patent law, both for the protection of the telephone invention then later detailing the importance for air development and protecting the Wright Brothers. Bell had many fights over his inventions, especially with the large Western Union who tried to steal his invention with their considerable resources. Western Union was truly a national company with investment from JP Morgan, the Vanderbilt family and Rothschilds. While Bell’s eventual patent protected his monopoly for 16 years, Western Union violated the law and, to some surprise, David won against Goliath, securing him funds from the mammoth corporation and giving him 14 more years of patent protection. Later, Bell ended up with another fight with a company set up with a large number of politicians cut into the deal, but he again won protecting his invention in court. Still, he paid a price with the court battles and newspaper attacks.
Bell had no money but was rushed to invent the telephone to secure the cash needed to get married. This was at a time when many were working on inventions – Thomas Edison, German schoolteacher Philipp Reis with a crude telephone with limited sounds a decade before Bell’s successful invention, Elisha Gray with what the NYT’s termed “music by telegraph,” and Virginia dentist Mahlon Loomis creation of a device to send radio signals.
On Bell’s 29th birthday, he was informed his patent for the telephone would be issued – and this was urgently important because his lifetime wife, 18-year-old Mabel, agreed to marry him. The book is full of rich pictures, drawings, and handwritten letters that bring the text to life. A few months later, Bell introduced his invention at the International Centennial Exhibition. This was where the famous call with his assistant, Thomas Watson took place (Later, Watson invented many more things, including the telephone ringer and racked up 60 patents.) As a telephone worker, I always thought this was the highlight of that exhibition but the pictures in this book and the sharing of technical problems they had now made me realize that this was just one more invention being highlighted – and one much more modest than large equipment that was more attention getting.
Having his intention and patent was just the start of it. Securing the investment and building trust and literal connections was much more difficult. Two hundred telephones were in service a year later – for $20 a month for residents and double that for business customers. While telephone technology was improving, the spread of telephones was going slow. By 1879, there were fewer than 70,000 phones in the United States, including 825 in Cincinnati, and fewer overseas. While protecting his patents, AT&T continued to expand phones and doubling profits every year until 1885. Mostly wealthy urban dwellers and businesses had phones.
American Bell continued to be a good investment, but the company was held back because it paid out more than half of its profits to investors and had far less to expand. Other companies, usually under the name Home Telephone company, competed with AT&T and American Bell; the two companies merged in 1901. Direct dial, installed in the White House by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1901, expanded coverage even more. But competition in the progressive era brought on many companies – and so many lines in major towns. Pacific Bell Telephone president John Sabin created the party-line for ten and the pay phone, then called “nickel-in-the-slot in the 1890’s.
Ironically, it was the takeover of AT&T by industrialist JP Morgan that folded most independent phone companies into the giant corporation in 1913. Local competition was a thing of the past with long time telephone senior manager Theodore Vail getting his way under the mission of “universal service.” Shortly thereafter, the first coast to coast phone conversation took place with Bell and Watson again on the two ends of the phone, one in San Francisco and Bell in New York. Later, President Wilson called Vail, Bell, and Watson from the White House. In San Francisco’s Chinatown exchange, Manager Lu Kum Shu spoke in Chinese to Wong Sue in Boston. There are many pictures of these historic events. But long-distance calls were not cheap. In 1915, a three-minute telephone call from Toledo Ohio to New York City was $16.45.
Bell came close to inventing the phonography, something that Edison got credit and the money. He was part of creating the Dictaphone and later marketed it through another company. He turned much of his attention to the love of his life – his wife and his interest in teaching the deaf. Yet, the school he developed failed and his public fight against Edward M. Gallaudet over how to teach the deaf proved to further frustrate the inventor. Gallaudet taught sign while Bell thought that lipreading and speech therapy was the way to go.
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Bell had a unique childhood with a quirky dad and traveling through Europe and living in Germany, although the family did not speak German. Bell, then known as Aleck, was rejected by a woman he wanted to marry, setting him back for years. While wanting to be a musician, he went into educating the deaf, an interest he maintained for his life. It’s ironic that the man who brought voice over lines would have had a background in teaching people who were deaf.
Much of the second half of the book was devoted to Bell’s life back in Canada at a beautiful lake house, devoting much of his time to inventing the first flying machine to carry a person. His life seemed interesting, meeting with other inventors and having the time and money to explore other journeys. The author mentioned that inventor was absent-minded and was invited both Samuel Langley and Langley’s enemy, Simon Newcomb to visit his out-of-the-way home at the same time.
There was an interesting story of Bell’s work creating National Geographical Society and moving it to a membership model versus just selling a publication after first contributing to Science Magazine. It was also interesting to read about the formation of Telephone Pioneers – and Bell’s participation in the first convention in Boston in November 1911. As a young man working for Ohio Bell, it was the old people – in their 40’s and older – who were allowed to be members of the Pioneers to volunteer in the name of phone workers.
The book finished covering Bell in a soft way – with lots of pictures of him with his grandkids mixed in with pictures of his aviation experiments. The authors also mentioned Bell’s progressive bent opposing the Nova Scotia government when his long-time black butler was refused a room at a hotel due to his race and how he supported the right to vote “without qualification of education, sex, color, or property.” The last chapter covered his final years and funeral. It was mentioned that Bell, Edison, Write, and Henry Ford were now being replaced by more well-equipped research scientists at corporate labs of AT&T, Eastman Kodak, and General Electric.
With Mobel holding his hand and gently pleading, “Don’t leave me,” Bell passed away. His pine coffin was built in a Bell workshop. Shortly after, Mobel was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, died at 65 and buried on the same day a year late from her husband.
I wish the authors would have spoken more about Mr. Bell's progressive views and covered more about the workers of phone companies. It was interesting that it was mentioned that most operators had been men but changed to women and faced discrimination from AT&T including how they were fired if they married. It was also interesting that women could be linemen in the West but lacked that opening -- until just 50 years ago -- East of the Mississippi.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2018
I obtained this book to learn about how Bell started the Bell Companies and built it into a great enterprise.
I was stunned to learn that Bell had nothing to do with the Bell Corporations.
His whole involvement was to invent the telephone at age 30 in 1875 and immediately sell the patents for a fortune which made he and his family rich for life. Some businessmen bought the patents and they were the ones responsible for building the great telephone empire.
The book is thus just a glowing memorial of praise written by one of his great grandsons.
I have no interest in Bell as a person, but I did read the whole book so I have to give it 2 stars.
I was stunned to learn that Bell had nothing to do with the Bell Corporations.
His whole involvement was to invent the telephone at age 30 in 1875 and immediately sell the patents for a fortune which made he and his family rich for life. Some businessmen bought the patents and they were the ones responsible for building the great telephone empire.
The book is thus just a glowing memorial of praise written by one of his great grandsons.
I have no interest in Bell as a person, but I did read the whole book so I have to give it 2 stars.
July 31, 2018
Fascinating story of the time
This was so much more than the story of the phone, or the story of Alexander Bell. It is a loving and detailed story of the time and people who lived there, and the many passions of Bell and his friends. I highly recommend it. I had no idea how awesome of a person Alexander Bell was, and that the phone invention was only one of the many of his achievements.
This was so much more than the story of the phone, or the story of Alexander Bell. It is a loving and detailed story of the time and people who lived there, and the many passions of Bell and his friends. I highly recommend it. I had no idea how awesome of a person Alexander Bell was, and that the phone invention was only one of the many of his achievements.
November 10, 2023
Competent but generally less than inspiring biography of an amazing inventor.
My interest in Bell was sparked by a very negative portrayal of the man in a novel about the modern deaf based on what were portrayed as his pro-eugenics and anti-sign language advocacy. Unfortunately, these positions were not covered in this book so I am none the wiser in that regard, but, I was amazed to learn of his many efforts and prototype inventions in addition to the telephone.
My interest in Bell was sparked by a very negative portrayal of the man in a novel about the modern deaf based on what were portrayed as his pro-eugenics and anti-sign language advocacy. Unfortunately, these positions were not covered in this book so I am none the wiser in that regard, but, I was amazed to learn of his many efforts and prototype inventions in addition to the telephone.
November 19, 2021
Interesting read about someone you don’t know as well as you think
I knew that Alexander Graham Bell was the credited inventor of the phone, but didn’t realize how much of a polymath he really was.
I knew that Alexander Graham Bell was the credited inventor of the phone, but didn’t realize how much of a polymath he really was.
February 8, 2021
Excellent detailed account of Bell's inspirations and many interests. Loved all of the imagery. Even though it was co authored by a relative, it doesn't paint an overly rosy picture.
July 24, 2011
I'm reading this against the biographies of Thomas Edison, the subject of a cycle of poems I'm currently writing.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews