This book is an outcome of the conference on the development of large technical systems held in Berlin in 1986. It focuses on the comparative analysis of the development of large technical systems, particularly electrical power, railroad, air traffic, telephone, and other forms of telecommunication.

"Renate Mayntz, Professor and Director, Max-Planck-Institut fÿr Gesellschaftsforschung, Köln
Thomas P. Hughes, Professor, Dept, of History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia"

Foreword -- Large Technical Systems: Concepts and Issues -- The Emergence of an Early Large-Scale Technical System: The American Railroad Network -- The Evolution of the Technical System of Railways in France from 1832 to 19371 -- The Development of the German Railroad System -- Looking for the Boundaries of Technological Determinism: A Brief History of the U.S. Telephone System* -- The Telephone in France 1879-1979: National Characteristics and International Influences1 -- The Politics of Growth: The German Telephone System -- The United States Air Traffic System: Increasing Reliability in the Midst of Raped Growth1 -- The French Electrical Power System: An Inter-Country Comparison -- The Dynamics of System Development in a Comparative Perspective: Interactive Videotex in Germany, France and Britain