Wireless Nation: The Frenzied Launch of the Cellular Revolution in America by James B. Murray, Jr.

A very deep chronicle of the history of wireless telephone. Great for history buffs and telephone enthusiasts alike! - The Digest Editors

Amazon: $19.25
Barnes & Noble: $22.00
Powell's: $21.95

The Boiler Room and Other Telephone Sales Scams by Robert Joseph Stevenson

This is a highly interesting book written by a non-salesman who has a Ph.D. in sociology and has published work on deviance and criminology. Stevenson worked undercover as a researcher in roughly two dozen underground offices that are called "boiler rooms" to insiders. From here, workers who are scammed, cheated out of wages, intimidated, insulted and overworked, use various master sales plans to con others into believing grandiose dreams - and into dipping deeply into their pockets. A topic not usually visited with first-hand information. - The Digest Editors

Amazon: $11.96
Barnes & Noble: $14.95
Powell's: $14.95

Telephone Cards by Yves Arden

Some people collect stamps, others collect phone cards. Phone cards were a hot market item in 1996, until various dishonest phone card companies began appearing out of nowhere and glutted the market with their worthless cards. Everything has a cycle, however, so phone cards might become the craze again. Profitable or not, phone card collecting is fun! And Yves Arden has the only book still in print (that we know of) about the topic. - The Digest Editors

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Amazon: $7.25
Barnes & Noble: $7.25
Powell's: $7.25

Alexander Graham Bell : The Life and Times of the Man Who Invented the Telephone by Edwin S. Grosvenor, Morgan Wesson, Robert V. Bruce

Bell did much more than just invent the telephone. He helped found the National Geographic society and its distinguished magazine, brought Montessori education to America, did seminal work in deaf education (he was responsible for Helen Keller meeting her teacher Annie Sullivan), was involved in early civil rights efforts, and constantly argued publicly concerning the effects of technology on the environment. Alexander Graham Bell is less known for his inventions of the first practical phonograph, the metal detector, the hydrofoil, and the respirator, and did hundreds of experiments in aviation, achieving the first public airplane flight for the United States. This book reveals the humanity behind the man who invented one of the foremost inventions of the modern world. - The Digest Editors

Amazon: $15.98
Barnes & Noble: $45.00
Powell's: $35.00 (used)

Guess Who's Listening At The Other End of Your Telephone by Barry H. Harrin

This is probably one of the funniest telecom books you will ever read.

That may not be saying much, as most telecom books have a distinct lack of humor in them, but Barry H. Harrin's Guess Who's Listening at the Other End of Your Telephone? is one of the most amusing books of any genre that I've read in awhile.

It's title may bit a bit misleading to some. The book is actually the professional autobiography of the author, who rose from a "craft" at Ma Bell to a top telecom executive at a regional long distance company. Harry's rise to fame did not happen overnight. He put in many difficult years at the frustrating system that was "the phone company" during pre-divestiture. The story details his frustration with the Bell System, unions, supervisors, co-workers, executives, venture capitalists and crooks who have infiltrated our industry. - William Van Hefner, Editor

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Amazon: $19.95