This revised and updated classic explores the importance of technological innovation in the cultural and economic history of the West. Topics include technology of textile manufacture from primitive times, water wheels and wind mills, clocks and watches, and invention of printing. "Without peer in its field." - American Scientist.

"Excerpts from the Preface and Chapter 8: Materials Science, wedged as it is between the two better-known fields of Chemistry and Physics, teaches us that everything in our world is due to the interactions of atoms. If you can find out how they interact to make up the physical world, then you can also change the way that atoms act to make them do new things and, as we develop new materials, we discover that materials and humans are constantly being...

Wars are destructive events, but they also spur the development of new technologies. From the firearms of the American Revolution to the drones of the modern War on Terror, technology has played important roles in armed conflicts. War Technology looks at major advances and how they affected the battlefield. Learn how these technologies changed the way soldiers fight.

"The tools of our information age-from search engines to data mining to smart appliances-grew directly out of conflicts from World War I to the present day. Explore how today's Information Society reflects a worldview shaped by a century of war"--

"One of the most elusive and controversial figures in NASA's history, George W.S. Abbey was called "the Dark Lord," "the Godfather," and "UNO" (unidentified NASA official) by those within NASA. From young pilot and wannabe astronaut to engineer, bureaucrat, and finally director of the Johnson Space Center ("mission control"), Abbey's story has never been fully told--until now. This fascinating account takes readers inside NASA to learn the real story...

Back in the 1830s, who was a young blacksmith from Vermont, about to make his mark on American history? John Deere, that's who! Who moved to Illinois, where farmers were struggling to plow through the thick, rich soil they called gumbo? Who tinkered and tweaked and tested until he invented a steel plow that sliced into the prairie easy as you please? Long before the first tractor, who changed farming forever? John Deere, that's who! The life and accomplishments...

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In the 1940s and 50s, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate velocities and plot trajectories, they recruited an elite group of young women -- known as human computers -- who, with only pencil, paper, and mathematical prowess, transformed rocket design, and helped bring about the first American ballistic missiles. But they were never interested in developing weapons; their hearts lay in the...

"Co-Winner of the Silver Medal in Business Technology, Axiom Business Book Awards" "One of the Financial Times' Summer Books of 2019: Business" "One of the Financial Times' Best Books of 2019: Technology" "12 must-read books for 2019 as recommended by Tech Crunch's Extra Crunch readers" "One of Five Books' Best Economics Books of 2019" "University of Chicago 2019 Recommended Reading" "One of Handelsblatt's Best Technology Books of 2019" "One of Época...