• Making the Right Connections

This book reminds us of a time when the  handwritten letter, a telegram or wire, operator assisted telephone calls and radio, were the means by which news of worldwide events and happenings were transmitted. In today's world of instantaneous connectivity, its interesting to note that it was as recent as 1983, when cellular or mobile phones became commercially available for the first time. The first delivery of mail by air between North America and Ireland occurred on June 15th 1919, when John Alcock and Arthur W.Brown made the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Following the invention of the telephone by A.G. Bell in 1876 many observers deemed his device to be little more than a gadget which would never have any commercial success.

Thomas Larkin, born in County Mayo on July 4th 1874, similar to thousands of Irishmen and women, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the 'New World' in search of work. His ' American Dream' became a reality when he secured employment with the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, and as one of the early Telephone Pioneers of America, he helped to deliver what was then, new methods of communication over wires. Who was Thomas Larkin? Who were the Telephone Pioneers of America? Why in 2016, did the President of the Fort Pitt Telephone Pioneer Chapter, make a special visit to County Mayo to lay a bell shaped wreath at the headstone of this man? 

This book provides a fascinating insight not only into the journey of one Irish emigrant and the history of the telephone, it also encompasses much of the social history of Ireland and the United States in the early 1900s. 

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Making the Right Connections

  • Product Code: The Book Hub Publishing Group
  • Availability: In Stock
  • €19.99


Tags: Making, Right, Connections, Michael, Larkin, Thomas, 9781916484818,