Speaking into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication Book

For the most part, this is a very lucid and fascinating history of the concept of communication, illustrating how such questions gave rise to the discipline that bears that name. Peters traces the development of a wide range of communication questions from the Old Testament to Plato to new media such as radio and television, with pit stops along the way in strange arenas such as spiritualism and psychical research. The book probes rather deeply into areas that may otherwise seem nonsensically related to the study of communicative practices and phenomena, but Peters deftly explores how fascinations with things like spirits and the melding of minds gave rise to the dominant perspectives on communication that exist today, as well as many of the questions that remain hotly debated in the field today.

The real audience for this book is fairly niche--namely those interested either directly or indirectly in communication as a phenomena and as an academic discipline. But for those who are wont to enjoy it, this book offers some phenomenal insights and even some great encouragement at the end.