Tom Standage, "The Victorian Internet" (1999)
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=w_oTLDzVEXsC
I read this book a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was published in 1999, before the dotcom bubble burst and the rise of Web 2.0 and before current thinking and practice around online learning had really got going.
But still, it provides a fascinating insight into the development of the telegraph, the disruptive impact it had on society and culture and the fears its spread elicited.
It's intriguing to note how many of these same debates were, and are, being repeated in the Internet age. Some of the parallels are fascinating and suggest that many of the debates we are having aren't quite as original as we might think...
You said: "It's intriguing to note how many of these same debates were, and are, being repeated in the Internet age.". So very true! Fear of change has been a historical constant... one that society can never avoid struggling with.
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