Laszlo Solymar has been at the University of Oxford since 1966. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor. He has held visiting professorships at the Universities of Paris, Copenhagen, Osnabrück, Berlin, Madrid and Budapest. He published 8 books and over 250 papers. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society since 1995, and received the Faraday Medal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1992. During his career, Solymar has conducted research on antennas, microwaves, superconductivity, photorefractive materials, holography, metamaterials.

• 1: Introduction 2: The beginning of communications 3: The mechamical telegraph 4: The electric telegraph 5: The telephone 6: Wireless telegraphy 7: The Telephone Revisited 8: The Communications Revolution 9: Microwaves 10: The solid state revolution 11: Digitalisation 12: Optical Communications 13: Deregulation and Privatisation 14: Mobile Communications 15: The Fax Machine 16: The communications-computing symbiosis 17: Satellites again 18: Optical fibers revisited 19: The Mature Internet 20: Mobile phones, smartphones 21: Artificial Intelligence The Future

Review from previous edition The delight of 'Getting the Message' is Laszlo Solymar's deft and illuminating interweaving of the human and the technological sides of communications. He puts each major innovation in the context of its times, so you understand its impact. His explanations are lucid, and his stories both thought-provoking and fun. Solymar has reached the writer's hardest goal, combining sharp insight with clear and entertaining prose in a book readers will treasure.