I highly recommend Jon Bois' Youtube docuseries[1] on this story that's basically a 4-hour PowerPoint presentation which frames this all through the metaphor of the 90s Tim Allen sitcom Home Improvement. That descriptor probably sounds insane to anyone not familiar with his work, but Bois is one of a kind with what he does and I thought this series was one of his best.
Seconded. I went in with only a vague awareness of what Bois' thing is and knowing it somehow involved Tims, Als, and oceanic telegraph cables. I was not disappointed.
There is a hard to find book called "Tent life in Siberia" by George Kennan, which is his account of a scouting trip of a bunch of Americans trying to build an overland telegraph route to Europe via Canada, Alaska then Russia, because it's proven too difficult to go under the Pacific. It's quite an entertaining read if you're into that kind of thing. It's not the most professional operation and after two years they get word that the Pacific undersea line has succeeded.
It's very dense, but if you enjoy going down a rabbit hole about this stuff I recommend The Story of Telecommunications by George Oslin. It's the size of a history textbook.
I highly recommend reading A Thread Across the Ocean, a gripping tale of the development and laying of the first transatlantic cable. It’s quite a page turner.
[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmyBSrQodnI
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