Bell: Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude, written by Robert V. Bruce is a biography about Alexander Graham Bell, used as a foundation for many Bell articles. This author covers Bell’s life before, during, and after the telephone, this includes information focuses on the motive to build the telephone and it’s impact on society. Bruce explains that initially Bell didn’t intend on building the telephone, however once the telephone had “first spoken” Bell had only wanted to improve the invention. Continuing the creation of the telephone did not only positively impact Bell’s life but society as a whole to this day. Robert V. Bruce is completely credible when it comes to any sort of historical information. He held a Ph.D. in history…show more content… In addition to this biography on Alexander Graham Bell, Bruce has published numerous articles and books on history. He is the author of Lincoln and the Tools of War and 1877: Year of Violence. Both of these books have clear components on history, and have received superior reviews on the content that lies within those pages. Although this biography was written in the late nineties, many elements of Bruce’s work is seen in current articles about Alexander Graham Bell today.
How is the biography organized? What ties the book together?
Robert V. Bruce manages to retell the life of Alexander Graham Bell in an informative yet organized way. Bell: Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude is sorted into three different sections: Before the Telephone, The Telephone, and After the…show more content… Like all inventions, the telephone wasn’t perfect to begin with, and the public eye gained sight of that. Many people in the world at the time were all waiting on the debut of the telephone including New York Times and Times. “The precise speed of public acceptance would matter little to mankind at large” (188). Word on the telephone had gone worldwide after a successful demonstration, also known as the Salem lecture. Prominent Salem men spoke to Watson (in Boston) asking a simple question; Watson had been able to recognize the voice of the men all the way from Salem. This lecture left a great impression on the telephone, newspapers had said that “Infinite are the uses to which the new invention could be put” (217-219). Lastly, Alexander Graham Bell had created a company that became and still to this day is prosperous, the Bell Telephone Company. By 1880, the company, now called the American Bell Telephone Company had 73,500 shares. Bell created an industry that wasn’t only successful, but he unintentionally connected nations in positive and negative ways. (293). People instantly think Alexander Graham Bell when they hear the telephone, then and now, the telephone started off slow, but today instantaneously creates connections within a
