"An internationally renowned scholar and political economist, Innis was the forefather of the 'global village' concept popularized by Marshall McLuhan in the 1960s. Innis' life-time of research resulted in this seminal work which examines the evolution of communications media from stone tablets to printing presses, and the direct impact of various media on the duration and prosperity of the empires of Egypt, Rome, Greece, Babylon, Europe, and America. In this revised edition, David Godfrey brings Innis' classic study of communications theory into the 1980s. Applying Innis' examinations of civilization and technology to the present, he helps us understand today's explosion of electronic media in Canada and the world"--Back cover.