John Durham Peters book is a beautiful history of both communication science and philisophy about communication.

By discussing the different notions people have had about commmunication, starting with Ancient Greece and ending with trying to communicatie with aliens via the SETI project, Peters clearly describes what great thinkers have thought about 'succesful communication' and what hinders it. Via his chronological approach you will learn about people's acceptance of new kinds of communication media as well. The fact that he focuses the introduction of new technologies on the the radio does not mean that he neglects technologies like tv, the internet or even the web 2.0. Peters interprets these new technologies by means of the introduction of radio and shows us that each introduction is more or less a variation on a theme.

If you are looking for a good description about the rise of communication science and how philosophers have thought about communication throughout the years, this is your pick. The book does use some philisophy terminology, but if you know the basic stuff about philosophy, or have Wikipedia near you, this shouldn't be a problem. ( )