History of the Internet: A Chronology, 1843 to the Present

"While books about the Internet abound, books on its history do not. This work is a readable chronology of one of the biggest technological advances of the 20th century. It begins in 1843 with Charles Babbage's calculating machine and moves through the 19th century with entries on Morse and the telegraph, Bell and the telephone, and the innovation of Herman Hollerith and his electric tabulating system. Entries trace the early 20th century through the invention of the electronic binary computer (1939) to Arpanet (1969). Most attention is spent from 1970 onward and continues to 1998 when America Online bought Netscape. Chronological entries are readable and thorough, and include biographical sidebars on important individuals such as Bill Gates. The chapter on future trends covers topics such as the Microsoft trial, advertising on the Internet, and Internet2. The extensive bibliography and glossary, importance of the topic, readability of the entries, and large number of topics covered make this an important work for all types of libraries and readers."--"Outstanding reference sources 2000", American Libraries, May 2000. Comp. by the Reference Sources Committee, RUSA, ALA.