The Master Switch

Archival Summary & Scope

Tim Wu's *The Master Switch* investigates a recurring pattern in American history: how initially open information industries, from the telephone to film, radio, and television, eventually consolidate under ruthless monopolies or cartels. Wu asks if the internet is destined to follow this path, potentially yielding unprecedented centralized control over information.

Through a sweeping historical narrative, Wu chronicles the rise of figures like Adolph Zukor (Hollywood), David Sarnoff (NBC), and Theodore Vail (Bell System), who transformed nascent technologies into vast information empires. He reveals how this progression—from invention to industry to empire—is often aided by government, stifling both free expression and technical innovation.

Wu identifies this time-honored pattern in the strategies of contemporary powers like Apple, Google, and AT&T. *The Master Switch* serves as both an industrial exposé and a meditation on freedom in the digital age, illuminating the looming battle for the Internet's future and its critical implications for American society.