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Masters of the Word: How Media Shaped History Paperback – July 8, 2014

by William J. Bernstein (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 95 ratings
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In his new book, William J. Bernstein, the celebrated author of A Splendid Exchange, chronicles the history of media, starting with the origin of writing thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia. The revolutionary tool gave rise to the world’s ancient empires. And when Phoenician traders took their alphabet to Greece, literacy’s first boom led to the birth of drama and democracy.

But it’s not just new communication technologies that have changed the world—it’s access to them. Vernacular bibles gave rise to religious dissent, but it was only when the combination of cheaper paper and Gutenberg’s printing press drove down the cost of books by 97 percent that the fuse of Reformation was lit. The Industrial Revolution allowed information to move faster and farther than ever before, though it concentrated power in the hands of those who ran radio and TV stations, large newspapers, and then, totalitarian governments. With the twenty-first century boom of the mobile Internet, control of media has again spread, and the world is both more connected and freer than ever before. An utterly captivating, enlightening book, Masters of the Word will change the way you look at technology, human history, and power.
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  1. Print length
    448 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Grove Press
  4. Publication date
    July 8, 2014
  5. Dimensions
    5.4 x 1.3 x 8.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    080212139X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0802121394
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Bernstein] enables us to see what remains the same, even as much has changed: Henry VIII had William Tyndale burned at the stake for making the Bible available in English; today, dictators and their henchmen beat up and murder protesters by the hundreds, likewise (simply put) to maintain control of information.”—Library Journal, “Editors’ Picks”

“In Masters of the Word, a master storyteller, synthesizer, and historian shows us how the power of the word has toppled tyrants. I love reading what Bernstein writes.”—Ed Tower, Professor of Economics, Duke University

“Masters of the Word takes you on a fascinating trip, from the invention of writing to the creation of the world-wide Web. Bernstein masterfully describes not just the inventions and the inventors that created modern media, but the forces underlying their impact. Riveting and thoroughly researched, it brims with interesting ideas and astonishing connections.” —Phil Lapsley, author of Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws Who Hacked Ma Bell

“Fascinating … an engaging mix of theory, fact and enlightenment from across the millennia that wears its rich scholarship lightly.”—Peter Preston, The Guardian (UK)

“[Bernstein’s] narrative is succinct and extremely well sourced. . . . [He] reminds us of a number of technologies whose changed roles are less widely chronicled in conventional histories of the media.”—Irish Times

“This sweeping, although selective, historical narrative by award-winning financial historian Bernstein elucidates in highly readable fashion the role of ‘media’—in which he includes advances from ancient alphabets to movable type to twenty-first-century technology—in shaping civilization and determining democratic versus despotic tendencies. Bernstein’s thesis that ‘power accrues to the literate’ should not be taken simplistically; his larger arguments are learned and elegantly made. … His occasional invocation of modern phenomena in a nonmodern context … lend charm and clarity to what might have otherwise been dauntingly erudite. Instead, Bernstein offers an accessible, quite enjoyable, and highly informative read that will hold surprises even for those familiar with some of the history he covers.”—Mark Levine, Booklist

"Fascinating."—Irish Examiner

About the Author

William J. Bernstein Willliam J. Berstein is a financial theorist and historian whose books include The Four Pillars of Investing, The Birth of Plenty, and A Splendid Exchange.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press; Reprint edition (July 8, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 080212139X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802121394
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 1.3 x 8.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 95 ratings

About the author

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William J. Bernstein

William J. Bernstein

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William Bernstein has authored several best-selling books on finance and history, is often quoted in the national financial media, and has written for Morningstar, Money Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. His title on the history of world trade, A Splendid Exchange, was short-listed for the 2008 Financial Times/Goldman Sachs best business book award, and was designated a best book of the year by the Economist. He was the 2017 recipient of the CFA Institute's James Vertin Award for financial research.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
95 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Red Ryder
5.0 out of 5 stars The Wordsmiths of History
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
Bernstein manages to encapsulate the manner in which media has shaped our world in an easily understandable format. He begins before the scriptoria and ends in our world with the development of the Internet. And of course he ties the development of the word to the times and events that the word changed or the times and events that changed the word. His rendition of the development of the Internet is the most concise and most easily understood that I have read. If you have any interest in language and its effect upon our history, you will enjoy Mr Bernstein’s eye on the Wordsmiths of History.
3 people found this helpful
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John R Drake, PhD
4.0 out of 5 stars Communication, Politics and Technology
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2013
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Having read and enjoyed some of Bernstein's earlier books, I picked this one up with much anticipation. I was not disappointed. Bernstein has a flair for story-telling and masterfully compiles and narrates stories of hundreds of cases where communication technology intersects with politics. His history of communication technology matches my own studies on he subject (I'm a professor of MIS), yet he goes beyond with lurid details of political movements and their use of technology to either suppress the masses or overthrow the powers that be. Just the history is fascinating.

I found only one aspect to this book disappointing. His basic premise - that decentralized communication technology enables democracy where as centralized communication technology enables despots - was only partially established. The last chapter of the book concedes that more is needed than just technology, in which I fully agree. But his notion that culture is the last ingredient was not satisfactory, especially because he doesn't spend any time in the book talking about how culture plays a role.

Overall, I think this book is worth reading and a good introduction to the intersection of politics, communication, and technology.
14 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing - opened my mind
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2022
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Never thought that spacing between words is a way for productivity increase. Amazingly well researched and thought out.
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D. Zee
5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly as advertised.
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2022
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The book was slightly NEWER than I expected.
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Yiyuk Alatorre
3.0 out of 5 stars I was somewhat disappointed that there was no mention of the Windtalkers of ...
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
I was somewhat disappointed that there was no mention of the Windtalkers of WWII. That was an important communication genius. Without that who knows maybe we would be talking Japanese or German or both.
Other than that it was a very well written book, an I plan to use it in a future paper.
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Jeffrey M. Welch
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book from Bernstein
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2014
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I have read each of William Bernstein's book and each time he impresses me more. This book is a masterful ride though the history of communication and its impact on world events. It sets a somewhat optimistic tone in regards to our future as a world where our media is in our pocket and no one power can completely control it. It would be nice to hear what Bernstein's take is on the recent and ongoing NSA revelations as hope may have dimmed slightly for a more democratic world.
3 people found this helpful
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Ken
4.0 out of 5 stars a good survey
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2013
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I've read all of Dr. Bernstein's books. This is a survey of the history of the ability to communicate in ways other than face-to-tace speech. The upshot is that, provided despots don't starve their populations, soldiers aren't willing to shoot their nation's citizens, and people get basic physiological needs met, then the net, twitter, etc., should lead to better and more truthfully informed democracies. The book was written before the "Arab Spring" was revealed to be nothing more than a deliberately false narrative, before Snowden blew the cover on the US intelligence service, before Pelosi killed efforts to require probable cause to intercept all electronic information, before the Director of the National Intelligence Service committed perjury in Congressional testimony, and before it was revealed that Silicon Valley companies are now being pressured to give up account user names and passwords. The later would allow others to send emails using your account and bearing your "signature." Paper and pen will make a comeback, I predict. A good history. I hope a Second Edition with updated material will be forthcoming.
10 people found this helpful
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David Hairston
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for those in politics
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020
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Another Masterpiece by Bernstein. Outlines what happens during periods of technology change. While he never uses the term; this is a history of fame news and WHY it happens.
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Top reviews from other countries

Elvis
3.0 out of 5 stars For whom it is written?
Reviewed in Germany on May 14, 2023
Verified Purchase
It is very hard to keep track of the main narrative and idea when the author injects random historical stories and events with random people and random locations for no apparent reason. How do I keep track of countless random names and how can I understand what is happening since there were never any descriptions of the "setting" and who the heck are these people? Am I supposed to know the entire history of the world the be "in the know"?

Why write about persons parents, their names and their upbringing to never relate it to the story and never mention those names again. If you know something, it doesn't mean you should write it down and waste everyone's time.

The half of the book can easily be deleted, because it brings nothing to the main narrative and idea.
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L. J. W. Cych
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and knowledgeable.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2019
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Thoroughly enjoyed this. It swept me along. I loved the nuggets of fascinating historical info that didn't seem pertinent at first but then became so after you read on. Recommend this for anyone interested in the history of the word and the power struggles underlying mass literacies.
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Charlie
5.0 out of 5 stars Good food for reflection
Reviewed in Canada on September 4, 2013
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As a communications professional, I found this book particularly interesting. Allowed me to see history through a completely different lens.
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Alan Scapens
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2018
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fully satisfactory
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Sue K.B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2016
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Husband delighted with this book.
One person found this helpful
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