The Invention of Miracles: Language, Power, and Alexander Graham Bell's Quest to End Deafness
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- Create Date：2021-05-03 18:31:06
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Katie Booth
- ISBN：150116709X
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Summary
An astonishingly revisionist biography of Alexander Graham Bell， telling the true—and troubling—story of the inventor of the telephone。
We think of Alexander Graham Bell as the inventor of the telephone， but that’s not how he saw his own career。 As the son of a deaf woman and， later， husband to another， his goal in life from adolescence was to teach deaf students to speak。 Even his tinkering sprang from his teaching work; the telephone had its origins as a speech reading machine。
The Invention of Miracles is an astonishingly revisionist biography of an American icon， revealing the extraordinary true genesis of the telephone and its connection to another， far more troubling legacy of Bell’s: his efforts to stamp out American Sign Language。 Weaving together a dazzling tale of innovation with a moving love story， the book offers a heartbreaking look at how a champion can become an adversary and provides an enthralling account of the deaf community’s fight to reclaim a once-forbidden language。
Katie Booth has been researching this story for more than fifteen years， poring over Bell’s papers， Library of Congress archives， and the records of deaf schools around America。 But she’s also lived with this story for her entire life。 Witnessing the damaging impact of Bell’s legacy on her family would set her on a path that overturned everything she thought she knew about language， power， deafness， and the telephone。
We think of Alexander Graham Bell as the inventor of the telephone， but that’s not how he saw his own career。 As the son of a deaf woman and， later， husband to another， his goal in life from adolescence was to teach deaf students to speak。 Even his tinkering sprang from his teaching work; the telephone had its origins as a speech reading machine。
The Invention of Miracles is an astonishingly revisionist biography of an American icon， revealing the extraordinary true genesis of the telephone and its connection to another， far more troubling legacy of Bell’s: his efforts to stamp out American Sign Language。 Weaving together a dazzling tale of innovation with a moving love story， the book offers a heartbreaking look at how a champion can become an adversary and provides an enthralling account of the deaf community’s fight to reclaim a once-forbidden language。
Katie Booth has been researching this story for more than fifteen years， poring over Bell’s papers， Library of Congress archives， and the records of deaf schools around America。 But she’s also lived with this story for her entire life。 Witnessing the damaging impact of Bell’s legacy on her family would set her on a path that overturned everything she thought she knew about language， power， deafness， and the telephone。
Reviews
James G
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The book jacket of The Invention of Miracles; Language， Power， and Alexander Graham Bell’s Quest to End Deafness introduces the prospective reader to “an astonishingly revisionist biography。” This book does not come close to being an honest biography of a genius inventor， but serves as a deceptive diatribe based on rumors and the author’s opinions。 Ms。 Booth’s research uses incomplete ideas and lopsided views which exclude anything that is contradictory to her plan to; “burn the legacy of Alexan The book jacket of The Invention of Miracles; Language， Power， and Alexander Graham Bell’s Quest to End Deafness introduces the prospective reader to “an astonishingly revisionist biography。” This book does not come close to being an honest biography of a genius inventor， but serves as a deceptive diatribe based on rumors and the author’s opinions。 Ms。 Booth’s research uses incomplete ideas and lopsided views which exclude anything that is contradictory to her plan to; “burn the legacy of Alexander Graham Bell to the ground。” The title of this book is absurd; no one “invents miracles。” They exist in the eyes of believers。The prologue sets the tone by describing unfortunate outcomes for Ms。 Booth’s family and friends who are deaf。 The author chooses to interview a handful of unhappy deaf adults and bases her opinions on these interviews completely ignoring any deaf adult who has had a different experience。 Ms。 Booth introduces common misconceptions spread by Deaf Culture advocates about Alexander Graham Bell （AGBell）。 AGBell never advocated for interference in marriage among the deaf， never wanted to eradicate deaf people， and never recommended sterilization or any kind of genetic interference in humans。 Despite AGBell’s statements to the contrary， the Deaf Community continues to believe these myths that were propagated over a hundred years ago。 Consult the FAQs at http://www。belllegacy。org/myths--rumo。。。 for more correct information。 Ms。 Booth further insists that AGBell is “personally responsible” for the actions of others in their educational responsibilities。 This seems to make as much sense as blaming the Wright Brothers for the 9/11 attacks。 When the author attempts to be a biographer， she chooses to highlight out of context remarks from the Bell’s personal correspondence to implicate his wife， Mabel， as sad and indifferent and their relationship pathetic。 Look to Dr。 Charlotte Gray’s biography; Reluctant Genius The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell for a true description of an inspirational harmonious partnership。Ms。 Booth considers Bell a “thief” even though history has proven after numerous legal assaults on his telephone patent that he was the sole inventor。 Bell created the only actual phone that carried voice at that time。 If the author actually tried to write this book as a biography， she should have included the many things he did for the benefit of all humanity。 Look to Dr。 Robert V。 Bruce’s distinguished biography; Bell and the Conquest of Solitude for a scholarly review of AGBell’s many contributions。These include;· The audiometer to measure sound， （using decibels）· Flat disc recording process and earliest recorded speech· Wireless telephone communication· Improvements in manned flight including the 1908 Scientific American Prize for Aviation and the first flight in the British Empire in 1909· Preliminary X-ray device· Hydrofoil boats and the world speed record in 1917· Vacuum Jacket （ventilator） Think about how many lives have been saved during the COVID Pandemic alone with this ingenious device。 AGBell created it after his son died in respiratory distress。Instead Ms。 Booth mistakenly tries to elevate Adolf Hitler by bringing his evil legacy into her book。 Comparing AGBell to Hitler is cruel and shameful。 There is no evidence that connects AGbell to Hitler’s atrocious deeds。 AGBell died long before the events of World War II。The reader is left with her attack on the current educational choices for parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing today。 Current informed choice can provide outstanding outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing。With early identification， early intervention， and modern technology children who are deaf or hard of hearing can develop listening and spoken language。 95% of children born deaf or hard of hearing have parents and families that have normal hearing and use spoken language。 These skills can be developed early in life when the brain in naturally wired to do this efficiently。 Ms。 Booth ignores the research that shows that we hear with our brains。 Thousands of people who are deaf or hard of hearing use hearing aids or cochlear implants to listen and talk without the need for sign language or sign interpreters。 American Sign Language （ASL） can be a choice， adopted at any age， after spoken language has been established。 Language deprivation need not be a problem for either language。 Just as AGBell was not anti-sign， professionals today teaching Listening and Spoken Language are not anti-ASL， but rather pro-spoken language。 Ms。 Booth unfairly evaluates past events and documents throughout this book in light of today’s reasoning。 This is a recipe for misinterpreting events of the past relative to the opportunities and technology of today。 Ms。 Booth’s insistent disparaging treatment of AGBell serves no apparent purpose other than to justify her own personal prejudice。 This book deserves to expire on the fiction shelf。Jim and Lea Watson 。。。more
Jennifer Zaranis
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Katie Booth did an excellent job in sharing the step by step timeline of how peoples hopelessness transformed into creating a language for the deaf community to what it is today。 I really learned a lot from this book as well。 Very informative and a great read over all！
Michael D。
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Katie Booth has thoroughly researched and brilliantly written a new biography of Alexander Graham Bell and his effect on deaf education and the deaf community。 Her writing is both historical and personal， direct and nuanced。 It is a must read！
Scribe Publications
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