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John Steele Gordon's book chronicles this extraordinary achievement -- the brainchild of American businessman Cyrus Field and one of the greatest engineering feats of the nineteenth century. An epic struggle, it required a decade of effort, numerous failed attempts, millions of dollars in capital, a near disaster at sea, the overcoming of seemingly insurmountable technological problems, and uncommon physical, financial, and intellectual courage. Bringing to life an overlooked story in the annals of technology, John Steele Gordon sheds fascinating new light on this American saga that literally changed the world.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780060524463","publication_date":"20030701","publisher":"HarperCollins","slug":"a-thread-across-the-ocean","subtitle":"The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable","title":"A Thread Across the Ocean"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"TRA006010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Maritime History","score":0.6945,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Colonial America (to 1775)","score":0.6918,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"19th-Century History","score":0.6914,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"TRA006010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Maritime History","score":0.6945,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Colonial America (to 1775)","score":0.6918,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"19th-Century History","score":0.6914,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS000000","confidence_band":"high","label":"History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036060","confidence_band":"high","label":"20th-Century America","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SCI080000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Science Writing","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SCI090000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Cognitive Science","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"TEC008060","confidence_band":"high","label":"Digital Electronics","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"TEC041000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Technology","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"TEC052000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Tech & Society","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"TEC056000","confidence_band":"high","label":"History of Technology","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Maritime History","score":0.6945,"slug":"maritime-history"},{"label":"Colonial America (to 1775)","score":0.6918,"slug":"colonial-america-to-1775"},{"label":"19th-Century History","score":0.6914,"slug":"19th-century-history"}],"reader_fit":["For readers interested in the history of communications and engineering","For readers drawn to stories of ambitious projects and technological obstacles"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Arthur Herman"],"book_id":"9780060534257","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780060534257.jpg?v=02cd75f46d970075","score":0.7136,"title":"To Rule the Waves","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780060534257"},{"authors":["Lincoln Paine"],"book_id":"9781101970355","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781101970355.jpg?v=af69cc82af9a7705","score":0.6894,"title":"The Sea and Civilization","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781101970355"},{"authors":["Edward Eggleston"],"book_id":"9781627931533","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781627931533.jpg?v=65de3e4396e15cba","score":0.6568,"title":"A First Book of American History","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781627931533"},{"authors":["James L. 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