The Gordian Knot richly tells the history of infrastructure development in both transportation and communication in the United States as a series of battles for control by vested economic interests, battles which have often failed to serve the public interest as well as it served the private interests who have been its principal stakeholders. It also tells of the intimate, if not always effective, involvement of the federal government, as it has struggled to find a happy medium between extremes of laissez faire and heavily-regulated monopoly.
Mitchell Kapor, Founder Lotus Development Corporation
This book does something that really needs to be done. It addresses the current national debate about the development of an information infrastructure in a manner that is accessible to generalist and specialist readers alike, and it locates the debate in a broader historical narrative that illuminates how we got here and where we may be going.
William Drake, Associate Director, Communication, Culture and Technology Program, Georgetown University
Books on telecommunications rarely make for enjoyable reading. The Gordian Knot is an exception. The authors present a very cogent and, in manys ways, convincing case. They lay out their argument at the outset, and carefully walk the reader through it. They clearly bring to the discussion a much needed multi-disciplinary perspective.
D. Linda Garcia, Resident Scholar, Foundation for rural Service, NTCA; Adjunct Professor, Communications, Culture, and Technology Program, Georgetown University