Charles T. Meadow is Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto where he previously served as associate dean. He is the author of Ink Into Bits: A Web of Converging Media (1998) and Making Connections: Communications Through the Ages (2002), both published by Scarecrow.

• Part 1 List of FiguresPart 2 PrefacePart 3 1. History of Communication: Cave Drawing to TypewritersChapter 4 The Very Beginning; Writing; What to Write On; The Alphabet and Numbers; Printing; The TypewriterPart 5 2. History of Communication: Sound, Light, and TransportationChapter 6 Sound Transmission; Light; Mail; Animals, Boats, and Ships; Iron Horses and Horseless Carriages; Flying MachinesPart 7 3. History of Communication: Photography and ElectricityChapter 8 Photography; The Telegraph; The TelephonePart 9 4. History of Communication: ElectronicsChapter 10 Radio; Television; Transistors and Integrated Circuits; Computers and the Internet; Communication Satellites; Wireless TelephonePart 11 5. What Is Information? What Is Communication?Chapter 12 Why It Matters; Information; Messages and Signals; Media; Transmission; Communication; NoisePart 13 6. Different Views of InformationChapter 14 Information and Data; Attributes of Information; Content and Context; Knowledge and the Knowledge Base; Information Overload; Learning; News and Intelligence; Disinformation; Truth; Propaganda and Misinformation; Entertainment as InformationPart 15 7. MessagesChapter 16 A Message as a Representation of a Thought; How to Represent a Thought; Messages Come through Our Senses; The Medium and the MessagePart 17 8. Signs and SymbolsChapter 18 The Idea of a Symbol; Examples; Combining Basic Symbols into Words and Numbers; Combining Word Symbols—Grammar; The Value of AmbiguityPart 19 9. Media and TransmissionChapter 20 Types of Media; Transmission Systems; Media, Hot and Cold; NoisePart 21 10. Communicating Meaning and UnderstandingChapter 22 Meaning; Understanding; Coming to Understanding; Understanding and the Knowledge Base; Brain Disorders; Communicating across CulturesPart 23 11. Communication: The Full MontyChapter 24 Composition; Technical Considerations; Semantics; Effectiveness; Some Real-Life ExamplesPart 25 12. Communication Systems of Today and TomorrowChapter 26 The Wired City; The Wireless World; Personal Communication; The Global Village: Convergence; Adaptation; Where Are We Today? Qulaity of Information; Where Will We Be Tomorrow?Part 27 BibliographyPart 28 IndexPart 29 About the Author

...a well-organized book that achieves its purpose...Readers of all levels of expertise could benefit.