![](https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/a-/ALV-UjUpG_2rYtPME4Ib7YIe9PDUZ1Hbf4dXpxEtKHsENV0GSqJZbdhArQ=s32)
Martin Ewing
This is a wonderful collection of tales about early American telegraph operators -- railroad, commercial, and military -- up to about 1900. A little dated in style, it is still a page-turner. I enjoyed several mentions of the scourge of "ham operators" -- still alive today on the amateur radio bands.