Cutting the Cord: The Cell Phone has Transformed Humanity

Martin Cooper, a wireless communications pioneer who invented the first handheld mobile phone while at Motorola in the 1970s, shares an insider account of the cellphone's development and impact. The book details the technical breakthroughs, failures, and political struggles that shaped the technology's evolution. Cooper describes the involvement of engineers, government regulators, lobbyists, and other figures in efforts to advance wireless communication while preventing monopolistic control of the telecommunications industry. The narrative culminates in the first public call made on a handheld, portable telephone, placed by Cooper himself. The book examines what the cellphone's history reveals about innovation, strategy, and management. Cooper also presents his perspective on the cellphone's future trajectory, discussing how continued advances in the technology may influence work, education, medicine, and healthcare.