This book provides a fascinating account of the origins and development of the technology that has transformed telecommunication and broadcasting and created the Internet. It depicts this remarkable human achievement by identifying the key innovators whose ideas created today's world of communications, from the Victorian scientists and mathematicians to the present day engineers. Written in a highly readable style, this book shows the impact of each innovation upon today's world of communications technology, and looks to the future for the innovations to come. The author writes from a unique position as he was a principal player in the development of 20th Century telecommunications engineering.