The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret

A gripping intrigue at the heart of one of the worlds most important inventions.

While researching Alexander Graham Bell at MITs Dibner Institute, Seth Shulman scrutinized Bells journals and within them he found the smoking gun, a hint of deeply buried historical intrigue. Delving further, Shulman unearthed the surprising story behind the invention of the telephone: a tale of romance, corruption, and unchecked ambition. Bell furtivelyand illegallycopied part of Elisha Grays invention in the race to secure what would become the most valuable U.S. patent ever issued. And afterward, as Bells device led to the worlds largest monopoly, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, he hid his inventions illicit beginnings. In The Telephone Gambit, Shulman challenges the reputation of an icon of invention, rocks the foundation of a corporate behemoth, and offers a probing meditation on how little we know about our own history.