History of engineering and technology Books

Book SynopsisA revealing genealogy of image-recognition techniques and technologies Today’s most advanced neural networks and sophisticated image-analysis methods come from 1950s and ’60s Cold War culture—and many biases and ways of understanding the world from that era persist along with them. Aerial surveillance and reconnaissance shaped all of the technologies that we now refer to as computer vision, including facial recognition. The Birth of Computer Vision uncovers these histories and finds connections between the algorithms, people, and politics at the core of automating perception today.James E. Dobson reveals how new forms of computerized surveillance systems, high-tech policing, and automated decision-making systems have become entangled, functioning together as a new technological apparatus of social control. Tracing the development of a series of important computer-vision algorithms, he uncovers the ideas, worrisome military origins, and lingering goals reproduced within the code and the products based on it, examining how they became linked to one another and repurposed for domestic and commercial uses. Dobson includes analysis of the Shakey Project, which produced the first semi-autonomous robot, and the impact of student protest in the early 1970s at Stanford University, as well as recovering the computer vision–related aspects of Frank Rosenblatt’s Perceptron as the crucial link between machine learning and computer vision.Motivated by the ongoing use of these major algorithms and methods, The Birth of Computer Vision chronicles the foundations of computer vision and artificial intelligence, its major transformations, and the questionable legacy of its origins. Cover alt text: Two overlapping circles in cream and violet, with black background. Top is a printed circuit with camera eye; below a person at a 1977 computer.Trade Review"A key technology of our time, computer vision is embedded in both our professional and everyday lives in numerous ways—from helping doctors diagnose diseases to enabling organizations to obtain accurate information about remote natural disaster zones and refugee camps to allowing billions of people to capture better images with their phone cameras. Focusing on the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s, James E. Dobson offers the first book tracing the development of computer vision. Combining historical research and theoretical analysis, The Birth of Computer Vision is an invaluable contribution to the fields of media theory, software studies, and algorithm studies."—Dr. Lev Manovich, author of Cultural Analytics"In this timely and eye-opening book, James E. Dobson provides a penetrating analysis of the opportunities and challenges of facial recognition and other computer vision technology by excavating its formation from the sediment of history, tracing its connections to the military industrial complex of the Cold War, and critically examining the notable successes and failures of embryonic research efforts and prototypes."—David J. Gunkel, author of Deconstruction

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Book SynopsisDigital services, platforms and arrangements are often promoted as smooth and convenient, smart or intelligent. When introduced, devices can appear utterly fascinating or awkward, even disquieting. Eventually, however, they soon disappear in the muddle of everyday life. This is how Mundania takes form. Based on original research, this book uses the concept of mundania to better understand technological change. Scholar-artist Robert Willim deftly unpacks the interplay between everyday life and the immense complexity of technological infrastructures. Offering imaginative new insights into our relationship with technology, this book will appeal to readers in a range of fields from science and technology studies and media studies to the arts.Table of Contents1. Arrival 2. Vanishing Points 3. In-between 4. Beyond 5. Beneath 6. Opacity 7. Order Variability Openings

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Book SynopsisAn update edition of Solomon’s Code—now The AI Generation—the thought-provoking examination of artificial intelligence and how it reshapes human values, trust, and power around the world.Whether in medicine, money, or love, technologies powered by forms of artificial intelligence are playing an increasingly prominent role in our lives. As we cede more decisions to thinking machines, we face new questions about staying safe, keeping a job and having a say over the direction of our lives. The answers to those questions might depend on your race, gender, age, behavior, or nationality. New AI technologies can drive cars, treat damaged brains and nudge workers to be more productive, but they also can threaten, manipulate, and alienate us from others. They can pit nation against nation, but they also can help the global community tackle some of its greatest challenges—from food crises to global climate change. In clear and accessible prose, global trends and strategy adviser Olaf Groth, AI scientist and social entrepreneur Mark Nitzberg, along with seasoned economics reporter Dan Zehr, provide a unique human-focused, global view of humanity in a world of thinking machines.

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Book SynopsisThis is the last untold story of Bletchley Park. Using recently declassified information, Paul Gannon has written a gripping account of the invention of the world's first true computer, Colossus.Uncover the secrets of Bletchley Park's code-breaking computers.In 1940, almost a year after the outbreak of the Second World War, Allied radio operators at an interception station in South London began picking up messages in a strange new code. Using science, maths, innovation and improvisation BletchleyPark codebreakers worked furiously to invent a machine to decipher what turned out to be the secrets of Nazi high command. It was called Colossus.What these codebreakers didn't realize was that they had fashioned the world's first true computer. When the war ended, this incredible invention was dismantled and hidden away for almost 50 years. Paul Gannon has pieced together the tremendous story of what is now recognized as the greatest secret of BletchleyPark.'Gannon's book contains a mass of utterly fascinating and largely unknown material about an immensely important wartime project, and is very welcome indeed.' - Brian Randell, TESTrade ReviewPaul Gannon has revealed a previously untold story . . . [Colossus] tells of the heroic efforts of the inventors and mathematicians [who] received no recognition for decades . . . Gannon sets the record straight. -- Simon Singh * The Times *Seeks to restore Colossus to its rightful place in the history of computing... read Gannon to feel the collective power of human minds harnessed to the cause of defending our freedom. -- Georgina Ferry * Guardian *Masterly in its breadth and sweep . . . Gannon's account of wartime interception and encryption is deeply researched . . . I commend the book to both the professional and the general reader. -- Donald Michie * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisThe straight eight engine, also known as the inline eight engine, was the driving force behind some of the most fascinating luxury vehicles of the first half of the twentieth century. From its introduction in the 1920s through its demise in the 1950s, the straight eight graced a number of upmarket vehicles from makers like Pontiac, Packard, and Daimler, and even appeared under the hood of the hyper-exclusive Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, of which only eighteen models were produced. Although it was eventually replaced by the V8 engine, the straight eight engine can be found in some of the most valuable and sought-after vehicles of all time. Keith Ray's The Straight Eight Engine is the first volume to be published about this extraordinary mechanism. Featuring four hundred images, the book is a lush tribute to an automotive component likely to never be equaled for smoothness and refinement.Table of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionWhy the Straight Eight?Technical Problems with Straight Eight Engine DesignThe Straight Eight: A Kiss Of Death?The Birth of the Straight Eight AutomobileAn Overview of the ManufacturersAlfa RomeoAlvisAmilcarArrol-AsterAuburnBalboaBallotBentleyBeverley-BarnesBrennaborBrough SuperiorBugattiBuickBurneyChandlerChenard et WalckerChryslerCordDaimlerDe Dion BoutonDe SotoDelageDianaDiattoDodgeDuesenbergDupontElcarEssexFerrari (Auto Avio 815)FiatFNFrontenacGardnerGraf & StiftGraham-PaigeHamptonHartzHillmanHorchHudsonHupmobileIsotta FraschiniJensenJordanKenworthyKisselLa SalleLanchesterLeylandLocomobileMarendazMarmonMaseratiMathisMcFarlanMercedes BenzMillerMinervaMoonNashOldsmobileOpelPackardPanhard LevassorPeerlessPierce ArrowPontiacRailtonRallyRenaultReoRickenbackerRoamerRohrRolland PilainRolls-RoyceRuxtonSalmsonSkodaStearns-KnightStoewerStudebakerStutzSunbeamTriumphWeigelWindsorWolseleyZis & ZilStraight Eights in the Air and on the WaterStraight Eight AdvertisingIndex

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Book Synopsis"Of all the men who attacked the flying problem in the 19th century, Otto Lilienthal was easily the most important. His greatness appeared in every phase of the problem. No one equaled him in power to draw new recruits to the cause; no one equaled him in fullness and dearness of understanding of the principles of flight; no one did so much to convince the world of the advantages of curved wing surfaces; and no one did so much to transfer the problem of human flight to the open air where it belonged." These words were spoken by Wilbur Wright, who successfully accomplished the first powered flight together with his brother Orville in 1903 on the sand dunes of the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina. Wilbur was talking about the most important of their predecessors, Otto Lilienthal. Lilienthal attracted worldwide attention due to the spectacular photographs showing him in flight, made possible by technology that had only just been developed by him. This fortuitous union between a pioneer of aviation and the pioneers of so-called “instantaneous photography” is responsible for the immense contemporary popularity of Lilienthal’s flights around the globe, the first ever free flights performed by man. This book traces the life of the German aviation pioneer, focusing on the designs of his many aircraft and the photographic documentation that has survived. The presentation ends with a remarkable research project conducted by one of the authors, right up to and including his own training exercises with Lilienthal’s “normal soaring apparatus” and “large biplane”. This project offered new insight into Lilienthal’s work, and also led to a spectacular aerial meeting of Lilienthal's 1895 biplane and the Wright brothers’ 1902 biplane at a historic location on the Outer Banks. The book provides access to video material, largely stemming from this project.Table of ContentsThe beginning of an era.- The skies over Pomerania.- From a poor student to good scholar.- Bed lodger – engineer – manufacturer.- Life goal: inventor.- From the dream of flight to aerodynamics.- From theory to flying apparatus.- 1891 – the leap into a new century.- Captured in mid-air.- Modelled after a bat – the path to serially produced aircraft.- Practical flying – training and records.- An engine – again inspired by birds.- The Fliegeberg – a real airfield.- Flying machine customers and flight students.- More difficult than anticipated: steering.- A rich idea: the biplane.- Unfinished ideas and August 9, 1896.- To fly is everything – Lilienthal 125 years later.

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Book SynopsisIn this open access book, Mikael Hård tells a story of how people around the world challenged the production techniques and products brought by globalization. Retaining their autonomy and freedom, creative individuals selectively adopted or rejected modern gadgets, tools, and machines. In standard historical narratives, globalization is portrayed as an unstoppable force that flattens all obstacles in its path. Modern technology is also seen as inexorable: in the nineteenth century, steamships, telegraph lines, and Gatling guns are said to have paved the way for colonialism and other forms of dominating people and societies. Later, shipping containers and computer networks purportedly pulled the planet deeper into a maelstrom of capitalism. Hård discusses instances that push back against these narratives. For example, in Soviet times, inhabitants of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, preferred to remain in—and expand—their own mud-brick houses rather than move into prefabricated, concrete residential buildings. Similarly, nineteenth-century Sumatran carpenters ignored the saws brought to them by missionaries—and chose to chop down trees with their arch-bladed adzes. And people in colonial India successfully competed with capitalist-run Caribbean sugar plantations, continuing to produce their own muscovado and sell it to local consumers. This book invites readers to view the history of technology and material culture through the lens of diversity. Based on research funded by the European Research Council and conducted in the Global South, Microhistories of Technology: Making the World shows that the spread of modern technologies did not erase artisanal production methods and traditional tools.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Honing Local Techniques in a Globalized WorldPart I Nineteenth-Century Ways of Life2. Building Missionary Stations in Southeast Asia: Nias Islanders Deploy Adzes3. Communicating and Trading in West Africa: Talking Drums and Pack Animals4. Withstanding Globalization in Northern India: Farmers Make Sugar for Local ConsumptionPart II Twentieth-Century Improvisations5. Accessing Electricity in East Africa: Dar es Salaam Dwellers Pursue Power6. Creating "Creole" Cuisine in Latin America: Home Cooks Reinvent BatánesPart III Postwar Innovations7. Earning a Living in Urban Africa: Maintaining the “Native Beer” Economy8. Confronting Menstruation in East Asia: Koreans Create Self-made Solutions9. Doing It Yourself in Central Asia: Uzbeks Build Adobe Houses10. Conclusion: Challenging Globalizing Technologies

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Book SynopsisTracing the story of computing from Babylonian counting boards to smartphones, this inspiring textbook provides a concise overview of the key events in the history of computing, together with discussion exercises to stimulate deeper investigation into this fascinating area. Features: provides chapter introductions, summaries, key topics, and review questions; includes an introduction to analogue and digital computers, and to the foundations of computing; examines the contributions of ancient civilisations to the field of computing; covers the first digital computers, and the earliest commercial computers, mainframes and minicomputers; describes the early development of the integrated circuit and the microprocessor; reviews the emergence of home computers; discusses the creation of the Internet, the invention of the smartphone, and the rise of social media; presents a short history of telecommunications, programming languages, operating systems, software engineering, artificial intelligence, and databases.Trade Review“The work is conceived of as a text for an undergraduate computer science class. Basic definitions are covered, and the book is more comprehensive than other standard history of computing works because it covers analog and pre-digital computing innovations. The text then is written for a basic student introduction, which includes an abstract, key topics, review questions, and summary for each chapter. Also included are abundant pictures, illustrations, graphics, and references for each topic reviewed.” (G. Mick Smith, Computing Reviews, November, 2016)Table of ContentsWhat is a Computer? Computing in Early Civilizations Foundations of Computing The First Digital Computers The First Commercial Computers Early Commercial Computers and the Invention of the Transistor The Invention of the Integrated Circuit and the Birth of Silicon Valley The IBM System/360 Minicomputers and Later Mainframes The Microprocessor Revolution Home Computers The IBM Personal Computer A Short History of Telecommunications The Internet Revolution The Smartphone and Social Media History of Programming Languages History of Operating Systems History of Software Engineering History of Artificial Intelligence History of Databases

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Book SynopsisThe 18th and 19th centuries saw the emergence of new intermediary types of knowledge in areas such as applied mechanics, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, which came to be labeled as engineering science, transforming technology into the scientific discipline that we know today. This book analyzes how the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries and the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries provided the intellectual, social, economic and institutional foundations for the emergence of engineering science. The book then traces the rise of engineering science from the 18th century through the 19th century and concludes by showing how it led to new technological developments in such areas as steel production, the invention of internal combustion engines, the creation of automobiles and airplanes, and the formulation of Mass Production and Scientific Management all of which brought about major transformations in the materials, power sources, transportation and production techniques that have come to shape our modern world. Table of ContentsAcknowledgements.- Part I: Introduction.- 1 Changing Relationships between Science and Technology.- References.- Part II: The Roots of Engineering Science.- 2 The Intellectual Roots of Engineering Science.- 2.1 The Scientific Revolution – Overview.- 2.2 Roots of the Mechanical Philosophy.- 2.3 Roots of the Experimental Philosophy.- 2.4 The New Ideology of Science.- 2.5 Conclusions.- References.- 3 The Social and Economic Roots of Engineering Science.- 3.1 The Industrial Revolution – Overview.- 3.2 Iron Production.- 3.3 The Steam Engine.- 3.4 The Textile Revolution.- 3.5 Conclusions.- References.- 4 The Institutional Roots of Engineering Science.- 4.1 Great Britain.- 4.2 France.- 4.3 The German States.- 4.4 The United States.- 4.5 Conclusions.- References.- Part III: The Rise of Engineering Science.- 5 The Emergence of Engineering Science.- 5.1 Applied Mechanics.- 5.2 Fluid Mechanics.- 5.3 Thermodynamics.- 5.4 Conclusions.- References.- 6 The Establishment of Engineering Science: The Harmony of Theory and Practice.- 6.1 Theory and Practice in Great Britain.- 6.2 Theory and Practice in the German States.- 6.3 Theory and Practice in France.- 6.4 Theory and Practice in the United States.- 6.5 Conclusions.- References.- Part IV: Engineering Science-Based Industries.- 7 New Materials.- 7.1 Steel Production.- 7.2 Steel Construction.- 7.3 Conclusions.- References.- 8 New Power Sources.- 8.1 Internal Combustion Engines.- 8.2 Conclusions.- References.- 9 New Transportation Systems.- 9.1 The Automobile Industry.- 9.2 The Aeronautics Industry.- 9.3 Conclusions.- References.- 10 New Methods of Production.- 10.1 Mass Production – Fordism.- 10.2 Scientific Management – Taylorism.- 10.3 Conclusions.- References.- Part V: Epilogue.- 11 From Engineering Science to Technoscience.- References.- Name Index.

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Book SynopsisMail armour (commonly mislabelled 'chainmail') was used for more than two millennia on the battlefield. After its invention in the Iron Age, mail rapidly spread all over Europe and beyond. The Roman army, keen on new military technology, soon adopted mail armour and used it successfully for centuries. Its history did not stop there and mail played a vital role in warfare during the Middle Ages up to the Early Modern Period. Given its long history, one would think mail is a well-documented material, but that is not the case. For the first time, this books lays a solid foundation for the understanding of mail armour and its context through time. It applies a long-term multi-dimensional approach to extract a wealth of as yet untapped information from archaeological, iconographic and written sources. This is complemented with technical insights on the mail maker’s chaîne opératoire.Trade Review"Mail has been something of a Cinderella in the field of early martial equipment. Now, in this meticulous study, Wijnhoven has demonstrated and explored the extensive potential of the archaeological, iconographic and textual evidence. It makes a fundamental contribution to the study of ancient martial material culture, and has broader implications for the development and structuring of early European ironworking traditions." - Prof. Simon James, University of Leicester "Mail armour has been largely neglected by specialist literature, despite the important role that it played in Antiquity. This book fills in that research gap in an impressive manner. Not only does Wijnhoven pose the hardest questions about mail armour, but he also provides very satisfactory answers." - Prof. Thomas Fischer, Universität zu Köln "This excellent monograph provides a thorough and multifaceted exploration of mail in Europe from its development in the Late Iron Age into the Early Middle Ages, roughly 300 BCE to 1000 CE.[...]The production values are superb, replete with numerous high-resolution photographs and illustrations in colour, offering a close-up look at mail scattered across international collections and not always on active display. This definitive book will prove a cornerstone for pre-modern armour studies for decades to come."- Michael J. Taylor, The Classical Review (2022) "This volume is probably destined to be the ‘go-to’ standard work for European ring-mail armour. It is intelligently assembled and supported by much gathered evidence.[...]This is a superb piece of research, presented in an easily understood format, containing much useful information. I recommend it unhesitatingly to anyone who has an interest in ancient ring mail armour."- Dr. Michael Thomas, Ancient Warfare Magazine, Vol. XV, Iss. 4 “Martijn Wijnhoven’s book is a thoughtful and comprehensive investigation, long required, into early European mail armour. […] The book is well illustrated, supporting the overview of the technical details. This study traces a success story of an Iron Age technology that remained an important piece of defensive armour until the nineteenth century AD, with only minor modifications. If you want to know anything, or rather everything, about early mail armour, you need look no further!”- Marion Uckelmann, “New Book Chronicle,” Antiquity, 2023, Vol. 97 Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1.1 Previous research 1.2 Research question and aims 1.3 Chaîne opératoire 1.4 A multi-dimensional approach to material studies 1.5 Scope 1.6 Mail or chain-mail? 2 The Origins of Mail Armour 2.1 Suggested precursors 2.2 Contested origins 2.3 Earliest evidence 2.4 Tracing the earliest contexts 2.5 Further dispersal 2.6 When, where and by whom 3 Distribution and Archaeological Contexts 3.1 Battlefields and accidental loss 3.2 Iron Age mail 3.3 The Roman Republic 3.4 The Roman Principate 3.5 Hybrid feathered armour 3.6 Hybrid armour beyond the roman empire 3.7 Late Antiquity 3.8 The Barbaricum and beyond 3.9 Mail for men, women and children 3.10 Social access to mail outside the Roman Empire 3.11 Centuries of archaeological evidence 4 The Iconography of Early Mail Armour 4.1 the iconographic evidence 4.2 the 3rd century bc to the end of the roman republic 4.3 early empire until the end of the 1st century ad 4.4 the 2nd century ad 4.5 the 3rd to 5th century ad 4.6 development of mail armour design in iconography 5 The Naming of Mail Armour 5.1 Classical literature on armour 5.2 Lorica hamata 5.3 Other designations 5.4 Simply lorica 6 Decoration in Mail Garments 6.1 Gold on silver 6.2 Copper alloy elements 6.3 Decorative origin 6.4 Development and distribution 6.5 Decorative trimmings 6.6 Inserted patterns 6.7 Contrasting rivets 6.8 Decoration of hybrid armour 6.9 Decoration of ‘miniature mail’ 6.10 Decorative hems 6.11 Colourful Roman army 7 Padded Garments 7.1 the advantages and disadvantages of flexible armour 7.2 himation, thoracomachus, subarmalis and cimmerian tunic 7.3 textile and leather remains 7.4 medieval analogy, gladiators and pteruges 7.5 concealed by metal armour 8 The Craft of Making Mail Rings 8.1 The mail maker’s process 8.2 The manufacture of metal wire 8.3 The manufacture of solid rings 8.4 Unravelling the use of butted rings 8.5 Loose rings 8.6 The mail making workshop 9 Weaving Patterns 9.1 Four-in-one pattern 9.2 Six-in-one pattern from tiefenau 9.3 Pinched loop-in-loop pattern from Bertoldsheim 9.4 Four-in-one pattern in hybrid armour 9.5 Favourable characteristics 10 The Construction of Mail Garments 10.1 Current knowledge based on late mail from Europe 10.2 Presence of constructional techniques in early mail 10.3 Construction of early mail by working in the flat 10.4 Construction of textile clothing and mail 10.5 Construction of the coat with shoulder guards 10.6 Mail with shoulder guards and textile clothing 10.7 The development of mail armour through the ages 10.8 Construction in cultural context 11 Ring Characteristics 11.1 The relevance of the seemingly irrelevant 11.2 Ring size 11.3 Direction of the overlap and ring types 11.4 Cross-section of riveted rings 11.5 Rivet characteristics 11.6 Shape of the overlap in riveted rings 11.7 Cross-section of solid rings 11.8 Ring characteristics typology 12 Final Considerations 12.1 Insights 12.2 Prospects 12.3 Methodological potential Bibliography Database Appendix 1. Catalogue of mail armour Appendix 2. Catalogue of hybrid armour Appendix 3. Catalogue of isolated finds of fasteners and fixtures Appendix 4. Finds excluded from the database

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Book SynopsisThis book systematically introduces readers to traditional Chinese handicrafts, which are original, distinct, and have had major impacts in China and around the globe. It explores 14 different types of handicraft, and provides a clear definition, detailed information on the techniques, and extensive discussion of each. Readers will not only learn the fascinating stories behind traditional Chinese handicrafts, but also be inspired by the great Chinese handicraftsmen’s inherent spirit of innovation and creativity. Table of ContentsMaking Tools and Devices.- Agricultural and Mineral Processing.- Construction.- Spinning, Dyeing, and Embroidering.- Ceramics.- Metallurgy and Metalworking.- Sculpture.- Weaving and Tying.- Lacquering.- Furniture Making.- Making Calligrapher’s Tools.- Printing.- Carving and Painting.- Special Handicrafts and Others .- Protection, Inheritance and Revitalization of Traditional Crafts.

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Book Synopsis Beautiful Data is both a history of big data and interactivity, and a sophisticated meditation on ideas about vision and cognition in the second half of the twentieth century. Contending that our forms of attention, observation, and truth are contingent and contested, Orit Halpern historicizes the ways that we are trained, and train ourselves, to observe and analyze the world. Tracing the postwar impact of cybernetics and the communication sciences on the social and human sciences, design, arts, and urban planning, she finds a radical shift in attitudes toward recording and displaying information. These changed attitudes produced what she calls communicative objectivity: new forms of observation, rationality, and economy based on the management and analysis of data. Halpern complicates assumptions about the value of data and visualization, arguing that changes in how we manage and train perception, and define reason and intelligence, are also transformations in governmentalTrade Review"Overall... this is quite an interesting read, illustrating how a single idea (cybernetics) can permeate all walks of life, at least for a time." -- Alexander von Lünen * British Journal for the History of Science *"...Halpern’s brilliant and blow-by-blow exposition on the transformation of our sense and reason in Beautiful Data certainly enriches our critical and historical understanding of important parts of contemporary society. This book contributes to the fields of communication studies, media studies, and science, technology and society (STS), as well as the history of science." -- Yasuhito Abe * International Journal of Communication *"Bringing together the history of science with studies of media, affect, and aesthetics, Beautiful Data offers a compelling account of the epistemological infrastructures of the digital that have, since 1945, radically changed the ways we see, interpret, and think." -- Jessica Hurley * American Literature *"Beautiful Data is an innovative, informative and highly enjoyable read for those who often find themselves hovering between disciplinary fields, offering a reflective history of early cybernetics, art, design, psychology and political science. Halpern guides her readers gracefully thorugh a history of interactivity between humans and machines, the archive and the interface." -- Amanda Tully * Science & Technology Studies *"Beautiful Data will no doubt comprise a critical touchstone for future reflections on 'big data' and where it is taking us." -- Hallam Stevens * Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences *"Beautiful Data is a significant work of contemporary theory . . . [that] lends difficult, rich new insights to unthought histories of digital perception, and to possible futures we might not only long for but actively build." -- Jackie Orr * Isis *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Prologue. Speculating on Sense 1 Introduction. Dreams for Our Perceptual Present 9 1. Archiving. Temporality, Storage, and Interactivity in Cybernetics 39 2. Visualizing. Design, Communicative Objectivity, and the Interface 79 3. Rationalizing. Cognition, Time, and Logic in the Social and Behavioral Sciences 145 4. Governing. Designing Information and Reconfiguring Population circa 1959 199 Conclusion 239 Epilogue 251 Notes 271 Bibliography 307 Index 327

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Book SynopsisIn documenting these events, Foster offers a broader understanding of the difficulties in sexually integrating any workplace, even when the organization approaches the situation with as positive an outlook and as strong a motivation as did NASA.Trade Review"This book is the first one to examine seriously how women finally joined the NASA astronaut corps... Rich in documentary sources and strengthened by oral histories, this book offers memorable stories illustrating the texture of this significant transition." (Margaret A. Weitekamp, National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution)"Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Beyond Rosie the Riveter2. Wilma Deering Meets Captain Janeway3. ''The Damn Crazy Things!''4. Making Space5. ''The Strange Ones''6. Defying Gravity7. ''NASA Sutra''8. Uninvited HeroicsEpilogueNotesEssay on SourcesIndex

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Book SynopsisHow the 1970s energy crisis facilitated a neoliberal shift in US political culture. In Energizing Neoliberalism, Caleb Wellum offers a provocative account of how the 1970s energy crisis helped to recreate postwar America. Rather than think of the crisis as the obvious outcome of the decade's oil shocks, Wellum unpacks the cultural construction of a crisis of energy across different sectors of society, from presidents, policy experts, and environmentalists to filmmakers, economists, and oil futures traders. He shows how the dominant meanings ascribed to the 1970s energy crisis helped to energize neoliberal visions of renewed abundance and power through free market values and approaches to energy. Deeply researched in federal archives, expert discourse, and popular culture, Energizing Neoliberalism demonstrates the central role that energy crisis narratives played in America's neoliberal turn. Wellum traces the roots of the crisis to the consumption practices and cultural narratives spTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction. Energy in CrisisChapter 1. "Is America Running Out of Gas?": Assembling the Energy CrisisChapter 2. "A Time to Choose": Interpreting the Energy CrisisChapter 3. "A Vibrant National Preoccupation": The Energy Conservation Ethic and Market ForcesChapter 4. "Put Your Foot on the Pedal": Contesting Conservation in Seventies Car CinemaChapter 5. "Markets Born of Shocks": NYMEX Oil Futures, Financialization, and Neoliberal NarrativesEpilogue. Enduring CrisisNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisA Next Big Idea Club "Must Read" for December 2023 As all aspects of our social and informational lives increasingly migrate online, the line between what is "real" and what is digitally fabricated grows ever thinner—and that fake content has undeniable real-world consequences. A History of Fake Things on the Internet takes the long view of how advances in technology brought us to the point where faked texts, images, and video content are nearly indistinguishable from what is authentic or true. Computer scientist Walter J. Scheirer takes a deep dive into the origins of fake news, conspiracy theories, reports of the paranormal, and other deviations from reality that have become part of mainstream culture, from image manipulation in the nineteenth-century darkroom to the literary stylings of large language models like ChatGPT. Scheirer investigates the origins of Internet fakes, from early hoaxes that traversed the globe via Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs), USENET, and a new messaging technology called email, to today's hyperrealistic, AI-generated Deepfakes. An expert in machine learning and recognition, Scheirer breaks down the technical advances that made new developments in digital deception possible, and shares behind-the-screens details of early Internet-era pranks that have become touchstones of hacker lore. His story introduces us to the visionaries and mischief-makers who first deployed digital fakery and continue to influence how digital manipulation works—and doesn't—today: computer hackers, digital artists, media forensics specialists, and AI researchers. Ultimately, Scheirer argues that problems associated with fake content are not intrinsic properties of the content itself, but rather stem from human behavior, demonstrating our capacity for both creativity and destruction.Trade Review"There is something bold, perhaps reckless, in preaching serenity from the volcano's edge. But, as Scheirer points out, the doctored-evidence problem isn't new. Our oldest forms of recording—storytelling, writing, and painting—are laughably easy to hack. We've had to find ways to trust them nonetheless."—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker"The Internet is awash in disinformation and conspiracy theories, with AI-generated 'deepfakes' looming on the horizon. A History of Fake Things on the Internet explains how fakes of all kinds have been a central part of Internet history and culture from the beginning. It is essential reading for understanding how we got here and where we are headed."—Sean Lawson, coauthor of Social Engineering: How Crowdmasters, Phreaks, Hackers, and Trolls Created a New Form of Manipulative Communication"In this captivating book, Walter J. Scheirer artfully combines the skills of a cultural critic, historian, and computer scientist to explore the many facets of technological duplicity. Going beyond cliches, the book delves into an array of historical and contemporary cases involving computer hackers, digital artists, media forensics specialists, and AI researchers. By doing so, he unveils how exactly emergent media becomes the basis for myths, falsehoods, and trickery, and with what consequences."—Gabriella Coleman, author of Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous"By historicizing fakeness online, Walter J. Scheirer helps readers understand the very real consequences, contexts, and stakes of digital participation. A fascinating study of creativity in all its forms—one that resists binary proclamations about what is good and creative and what is bad and destructive. Instead, the book says yes in many directions."—Whitney Phillips, coauthor of You Are Here: A Field Guide for Navigating Polarized Speech, Conspiracy Theories, and Our Polluted Media Landscape"Drawing on a framework developed by the pioneering anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss in the 1960s, Scheirer argues that humanity always occupies 'two parallel timelines: the physical world (i.e., the historical timeline) and the myth cycle (i.e., a fictional timeline).' Both are indispensable: We are confined to reality, but we cannot confront facts (or even make sense of them) without the salve of fiction."—Becca Rothfeld, Washington PostTable of Contents1. Restyling Reality 2. On the Virtual Frontier of the Imagination 3. Photoshop Fantasies 4. Cheat Codes for Life 5. Speculative Sleuths 6. Virtualized Horror 7. Dreams of a Clairvoyant AI 8. Creative Spaces

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Book SynopsisHow increased access to icedecades before refrigerationtransformed American life. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Americans depended upon ice to stay cool and to keep their perishable foods fresh. Jonathan Rees tells the fascinating story of how people got ice before mechanical refrigeration came to the household. Drawing on newspapers, trade journals, and household advice books, Before the Refrigerator explains how Americans built a complex system to harvest, store, and transport ice to everyone who wanted it, even the very poor. Rees traces the evolution of the natural ice industry from its mechanization in the 1880s through its gradual collapse, which started after World War I. Meatpackers began experimenting with ice refrigeration to ship their products as early as the 1860s. Starting around 1890, large, bulky ice machines the size of small houses appeared on the scene, becoming an important source for the American ice supply. As ice machines shrunk, mTrade ReviewIn Before the Refrigerator: How We Used to Get Ice, Jonathan Rees provides a rich and detailed history of how ice became an American staple . . . Rees does a masterful job illustrating how, in its rise and fall, the ice industry created many industry alliances and consumer habits that are still with us today. Ice has become a taken-for-granted feature of modern living. This book is the story of how that came to be.—Xaq Frohlich, Auburn University, Journal of Southern History[Before the Refrigerator] is an in-depth portrayal of a once-indispensable, life-changing technology, the former existence of which is as unknown to most of us as that of the telegraph or canal is to today's undergraduates . . . Rees synthesizes considerable archival research and presents interpretations of importance to scholars . . . Before the Refrigerator is as refreshing as ice water on a hot summer day.—Jeffrey L. Meikle, University of Texas at Austin, Journal of American HistoryTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroduction1. How to Harvest Ice2. How to Manufacture Ice3. How Ice (and the Perishable Food It Preserved) Made It to Consumers4. How Ice Changed the American Diet and American Life5. How Household Refrigerators Changed the Ice Market ForeverConclusionAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisSuperlatives tend to fail in describing Joan Blaeu’s Atlas Maior—that being said, it stands as one of the most extravagant feats in the history of mapmaking. The original Latin edition, completed in 1665, was the largest and most expensive book to be published during the 17th century. Its 594 maps appearing across 11 volumes spanned Arctica, Africa, Asia, Europe, and America. Ambitious in scale and artistry, it is included in the Canon of Dutch History, an official survey of 50 individuals, creations, or events that chart the most important historical developments of the Netherlands. TASCHEN’s meticulous reprint brings this luxurious Baroque wonder into the hands of modern readers. In an age of digitized cartography and global connectivity, it celebrates the steadfast beauty of quality printing and restores the wonder of an exploratory age, in which Blaeu’s native Amsterdam was a center of international trade and discovery.This edition is based on the Austrian National Library’s complete colored and gold-heightened copy of Atlas Maior, assuring the finest detail and quality. University of Amsterdam’s Peter van der Krogt introduces the historical and cultural significance of the atlas while providing detailed descriptions for individual maps, revealing the full scale and ambition of Blaeu’s masterwork.Trade Review“There can be few books out there more jaw-droppingly gorgeous than this extraordinary Atlas.” * TNT Magazine *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Robert Paul and the Origins of British Cinema will likely remain the definitive monograph on a fascinating and influential early British film pioneer. Christie provides novel insights into how British cinema in its earliest years documented historical events and lucidly traces the origins of motion picture copyright wars. This is an outstanding study that is certain to be welcomed by film scholars and to transform the study and teaching of the early years of cinema."--Edward Dimendberg, Professor of Humanities, University of California, Irvine

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Book SynopsisWhether you’re a vintage car spotter or an armchair petrolhead, strap yourself in for an unforgettable ride through motoring history.This sumptuously designed visual guide is packed with everything you could ever want to know about cars through the ages, from the earliest “horseless carriage” to the modern supercar and Formula 1.Inside the pages of this visually stunning car encyclopedia, you’ll discover an iconic celebration of automotive design and motoring history.     • Trace the history of the car decade-by-decade in stunning visual detail    • In-depth profiles highlight the most important cars of each period along with their specifications and special features    • Includes beautifully photographed “virtual tours” that showcase particularly celebrated cars such as the Ferrari F40 and the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost  Trade Review"'Definitive' is an ambitious goal, but one this hefty book tackles with élan — perhaps the way a 1965 Gordon-Keeble might tackle a winding country road." – The New York Times

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Book SynopsisFrom the telegraph to the touchscreen, how the development of binary switching transformed everyday life and changed the shape of human agency The Switch traces the sudden rise of a technology that has transformed everyday life for billions of people: the binary switch. By chronicling the rapid growth of binary switching since the mid-nineteenth century, Jason Puskar contends that there is no human activity as common today as pushing a button or flipping a switch—the deceptively simple act of turning something on or off. More than a technical history, The Switch offers a cultural and political analysis of how reducing so much human action to binary alternatives has profoundly reshaped modern society. Analyzing this history, Puskar charts the rapid shift from analog to digital across a range of devices—keyboards, cameras, guns, light switches, computers, game controls, even the “nuclear button”—to understand how nineteenth-century techniques continue to influence today’s pervasive digital technologies. In contexts that include musical performance, finger counting, machine writing, voting methods, and immersive play, Puskar shows how the switch to switching led to radically new forms of action and thought. The innovative analysis in The Switch makes clear that binary inputs have altered human agency by making choice instantaneous, effort minimal, and effects more far-reaching than ever. In the process, it concludes, switching also fosters forms of individualism that, though empowering for many, also preserve a legacy of inequality and even domination. Trade Review "In this deeply ambitious and sophisticated book, Jason Puskar invites us to think more seriously about what happens almost every time we touch one of our devices and turn it on or swipe or click. From the technologies at our fingertips to the vastly larger networks of politics and language that they operate and represent, The Switch provides a fascinating cultural history of how we have made the modern world, and been remade in turn, by the simplest of human actions and the connections they enable."—Mark Goble, author of Beautiful Circuits: Modernism and the Mediated Life "A dazzling, beautifully written history of a pervasive but seemingly unremarkable technology of modern life: the binary switch. Jason Puskar’s delightful and important book will fascinate historians of media and technology; it should be required reading for anyone curious about how fantasies of liberal agency are cultivated in the buttons, keyboards, triggers, and toys that make us human."—Justus Nieland, author of Happiness by Design: Modernism and Media in the Eames Era Table of Contents Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Awake at the Switch Part I. Start 1. Origin Stories 2. Designing the Button 3. Analogs and Analogies Part II. Digital Bodies 4. The Point of Touch 5. Counting on the Body 6. Darth Vader’s Nipples Part III. Keyboard Rationality 7. The Keyboard’s Checkered Past 8. Human Types 9. Chording and Coding 10. The Archaeology of Qwerty Part IV. Objects of Play 11. The Toys of Dionysus 12. Pinball Wizards Part V. Haptic Liberalism 13. The Control Panel of Democracy 14. Switching Philosophies 15. Pistolgraphs 16. First-Person Shooters Epilogue: Self-Destruct Notes Index

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Book SynopsisBefore Western clocks came to Japan, hours shifted in length with the length of the day through the seasons; this book looks at how standard hours arrived and how Japanese life adapted to them.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA host of books and articles have touched on various aspects of this ongoing story over the years, but none tell the story with the completeness and superb clarity found here. May - June 2010 * Michigan Railfan *Lamb's book is . . . an important contribution to railroad technological history. The book's strength is the author's mastery of the mechanical details, which he presents in a straightforward style. -- Mark Reutter, editor * Railroad History *Lamb provides the reader with detailed descriptions of every generation of diesel locomotive along with a generous supply of excellent photographs. July 2008 -- Maury Klein * Technology and Culture vol. 49 *Table of ContentsPrefaceChapter 1 Precursor TechnologiesChapter 2 Self-propelled CoachesChapter 3 The Diesel Climbs AboardChapter 4 Streamlined TrainsChapter 5 Developments Beyond La GrangeChapter 6 Alco ReboundsChapter 7 Postwar ShakeoutChapter 8 Road Switchers Take OverChapter 9 A Monopolized MarketChapter 10 Special Purpose DesignsChapter 10 New Heights for Diesel PowerChapter 12 Recent DevelopmentsChapter 13 The Diesel Century in PerspectiveReferences Index

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Book SynopsisIn the 1960s, when computers were regarded as giant calculators, J.C.R. Licklider at MIT saw them as the ultimate communication device. With Defence Department funds, he and a band of computer whizzes began work on a nationwide network of computers. This is an account of their daring adventure.

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Book SynopsisThe SUPERMEN "After a rare speech at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, in 1976, programmers in the audience had suddenly fallen silent when Cray offered to answer questions. He stood there for several minutes, waiting for their queries, but none came.Table of ContentsThe Codebreakers. The Incubator. Seymour. Engineers' Paradise. The Hog Trough. The CRAY-1. The Cray Way. The New Genius. Shakeout. Notes. Acknowledgments. Index.

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Book SynopsisA fascinating and informative read for all those interested in the history of ICE and how it has grown as well as the civil engineering industry and its impact on the world in which we liveTable of Contents1. Introduction 2. An Institution is born 3. A learning society 4. Education, training and membership 5. Regional development 6. Professional conduct 7. Governance, influence and communication 8. Fragmentation, unification and self-regulation 9. Civil engineers at war 10. The library 11. The buildings 12. Contracts and management 13. The Presidents 14. Secretaries and staff

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Book SynopsisThere is no part of our bodies that fully rotates be it a wrist or ankle or arm in a shoulder socket, we are made to twist only so far. And yet, there is no more fundamental human invention than the wheel a rotational mechanism that accomplishes what our physical form cannot. Throughout history, humans have developed technologies powered by human strength, complementing the physical abilities we have while overcoming our weaknesses. Providing a unique history of the wheel and other rotational devices, like cranks, cranes, carts, and capstans, Why the Wheel Is Round examines the contraptions and tricks we have devised in order to more efficiently move and move through the physical world. Steven Vogel combines his engineering expertise with his remarkable curiosity about how things work to explore how wheels and other mechanisms were, until very recently, powered by the push and pull of the muscles and skeletal systems of humans and other animals. Why the Wheel Is Round explores all mann

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Book SynopsisJohn Hedley Brooke offers an introduction and critical guide to one of the most fascinating and enduring issues in the development of the modern world: the relationship between scientific thought and religious belief. Brooke stands back from general theses affirming 'conflict' or harmony'.Trade Review'[John Hedley Brooke] has given us a brilliant, perceptive, subtle, nuanced analysis, which will permanently alter the way scholars and the informed lay public view the relations of science and religion.' David C. Lindberg, Metascience'… arguably the most important historical analysis of science and religion since Andrew Dickson White's History of the Warfare of Science and Theology in Christendom (1898).' Ronald L. Numbers, MetascienceTable of ContentsAcknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Interaction between science and religion: some preliminary considerations; 2. Science and religion in the scientific revolution; 3. The parallel between scientific and religious reform; 4. Divine activity in a mechanical universe; 5. Science and religion in the enlightenment; 6. The fortunes and functions of natural theology; 7. Visions of the past: religious belief and the historical sciences; 8. Evolutionary theory and religious belief; Postscript: science and religion in the twentieth century; Bibliographic essay; Sources of quotations; Index.

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of the acclaimed Chaos and Genius comes a thoughtful and provocative exploration of the big ideas of the modern era: Information, communication, and information theory.   Acclaimed science writer James Gleick presents an eye-opening vision of how our relationship to information has transformed the very nature of human consciousness. A fascinating intellectual journey through the history of communication and information, from the language of Africa’s talking drums to the invention of written alphabets; from the electronic transmission of code to the origins of information theory, into the new information age and the current deluge of news, tweets, images, and blogs. Along the way, Gleick profiles key innovators, including Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Samuel Morse, and Claude Shannon, and reveals how our understanding of information is transforming not only how we look at the world, but how we live.A

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Book SynopsisWiring the World is a cultural and social history that explores how the large Anglo-American cable companies won out over alternative visions. Through telegram prices, visions for world peace, scientific innovation, and the role of the nation-state, Simone M. Müller traces globalization's diverse paths and close ties to business and politics.Trade ReviewBased on a clear knowledge of the state of the art, while adopting a solid methodology and robust concepts, Muller is able to provide a fresh history of the development of telegraph networks during the nineteenth century in a truly global perspective. -- Pascal Griset, Sorbonne Wiring the World is a story not only of technical and entrepreneurial achievement but of imperial rivalry, the rise of professions, complex cultural interactions, far-reaching social changes, and a remapping of the meaning of maritime space. Focusing on one of the major developments of the communications revolution-the linking together of much of the world with submarine cable lines in the era before World War I-Simone M. Muller's carefully crafted study contributes significantly to the history and theory of globalization. -- Emily S. Rosenberg, editor of A World Connecting, 1870-1945 (Harvard University Press, 2012) By reconstructing the social networks that linked nineteenth-century British, German, and American North Atlantic telegraph promoters, Wiring the World provides us with a wealth of intriguing and sometimes startling insights into the cultural significance of the Atlantic cable-one of the most iconic technological innovations of the age. -- Richard R. John, author of Network Nation: Inventing American Telecommunications An excellent resource for communications history. Highly recommended. CHOICE A valuable and illuminating analysis. Connections Based on voluminous research, and written in a clear and accessible fashion, Wiring the World is a notable contribution to the history of globalization and technology. -- Duncan Bell Times Literary Supplement The endnotes and bibliography make this book a valuable tool for scholars interested in further research on North Atlantic cable telegraphy. By introducing actor-network theory into the history of telecommunications, Muller has led the way to further advances in the field. -- Daniel Headrick American Historical ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: The Class of 1866 1. Networking the Atlantic 2. The Battle for Cable Supremacy 3. The Imagined Globe 4. Weltcommunication 5. The Professionalization of the Telegraph Engineer 6. Cable Diplomacy and Imperial Control 7. The Wiring of the World Appendix: Actors of Globalization Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisMining in World History deals with the history of mining and smelting from the Renaissance to the present day, drawing out, in an engaging and fast-paced fashion, the interplay of personalities, politics and technology which have together shaped the metallurgical industries over the last 500 years. Martin Lynch opens with the invention, sometime before the year 1453, of a revolutionary technique for separating silver from copper, an event that revived the rich copper-silver mines of central Europe and the ruling ambitions of the Habsburg emperors who owned them. The author shows how the flood of silver from Spain's newly-conquered American colonies brought about the demise of these mines, and goes on to examine the far-reaching changes brought to mining and smelting by the steam engine and the Industrial Revolution. The book then looks at the era of the gold rushes and the comprehensive developments in mineral extraction and technology that took place in the United States and South Africa at the end of the nineteenth century, and describes the spread of mass metal-production techniques across the world amid the violent struggles of the twentieth century and the energy crises of the 1970s. Written by an author vastly experienced in the field, Mining in World History is the first book to provide an account of how and why change and advance in this global industry have taken place in different eras and locations around the world. As such it will appeal to the industry specialist as well as to the general reader who wants to know more about a field that has been fundamental to the construction of industrial civilization.Trade Review'This is quite simply the best history ever published on the role of mining in shaping world events. It performs the huge task of making sense of a complex range of industries that took many forms and produced many products, over centuries of change and development across every continent on earth. It does so in just 350 pages of succinct but comprehensive prose, remarkably free of errors of both fact and judgment ...Martin Lynch has managed to present the big picture of mining.' -Historic Environment 'This is quite simply the best history ever published on the role of mining in shaping world events. It performs the huge task of making sense of a complex range of industries that took many forms and produced many products, over centuries of change and development across every continent on earth. It does so in just 350 pages of succinct but comprehensive prose, remarkably free of errors of both fact and judgment ... Martin Lynch has managed to present the big picture of mining.' - Historic Environment 'A very profound book about a very profound subject. It can, and will, be used as a reference work, yet it is a splendid story well told. The reader with an interest in history, politics, and economics will find the book rewarding indeed ... The reader with a background in mining history will find the book a joy from beginning to end. The book builds momentum, the farther along the reader progresses, the more exciting the narrative becomes.' - Anthracite History Journal

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Book SynopsisWe all like to think we are pretty smart. New medical advances seem to come along every day; space travel suddenly doesn't seem so difficult; self-driving cars are no longer a thing of the future . but if we were stranded on a desert island tomorrow, most of us wouldn't know how to catch a fish or start a fire, let alone rebuild all that extraordinary technology we now rely on. The truth is that we're not necessarily more clever than our ancestors, we just have an accumulation of centuries of technological progress on which we can rely. As this book shows, many of the ancients were much more advanced that we realize - indeed there are recent inventions that had actually been discovered centuries earlier and then forgotten. And what about all those modern day devices and machines that rely on ancient inventions such as paper, levers and gears? From brain surgery in the Stone Age to Chinese whisky from the 7th century BC, to Damascus steel - once the hardest metal in the world, which we no longer know how to make - this insightful book collects together the stories of hundreds of ancient devices, inventions and breakthroughs from around the world and across the centuries, giving us a fascinating glimpse into past eras that were far more technologically advanced than we sometimes realize.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Pamela Long's wonderful book brings the reader into the streets and squares of late Renaissance Rome, and recreates the lost cultures of knowledge and practice that took shape there. She shows in vivid detail how scholars and engineers, artists and prelates struggled to recreate ancient Rome and rebuild the infrastructure of the modern city."--Anthony T. Grafton, Princeton University "In Engineering the Eternal City, Pamela Long recaptures the energy and efflorescence of the Eternal City in the late sixteenth century, when Rome appeared to many visitors to be a vast and never-ending construction site. During these crucial decades after the Sack of Rome popes, architects, engineers, physicians, antiquarians, humanists, and city officials devised numerous solutions to the problems of repairing an ancient city as part of making an early modern city a magnificent expression of Rome's unique legacy as the heart of an ancient empire renewed by faith. Readers who love this city and want to learn more about it will enjoy this book."--Paula Findlen, Stanford University

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Book SynopsisNow in Paperback! Carroll Shelby, legendary driving ace, race team owner, and designer of Shelby Cobra, Daytona, and Mustang GT350 classics is revered by automotive enthusiasts, yet little has been written about the last quarter century of Carroll Shelby’s life. During that time Chris Theodore, VP at Chrysler and Ford, developed a close personal friendship with Carroll. The Last Shelby Cobra chronicles the development of the many vehicles they worked on together (Viper, Ford GT, Shelby Cobra Concept, Shelby GR1, Shelby GT500 and others). It is an insider’s story about how Shelby came back to the Ford family, and the intrigue behind the five-year journey to get a Shelby badge on a Ford Production Vehicle. The author provides fresh insight and new stories into Shelby’s larger-than-life personality, energy, interests and the many unpublished projects Carroll was involved with, up to his passing. Finally, the book describes their unfinished project, the Super Snake II Cobra, and the serendipitous circumstances that allowed to the author to acquire ‘Daisy,’ the last Shelby Cobra. To his many fans, Carroll Shelby was truly ‘the most interesting man in the world.’Table of ContentsForward Prologue: Describes why I wrote this book Chapter 1: From Boyhood Hero to Automotive Legend • A summary of Shelby’s career • Criteria to become a legend • Why Carroll is one of the few who meets the criteria. Chapter 2: The Legend and a New Snake • First meeting Carroll • Carroll’s involvement with Chrysler • Shelby’s role in the development of the Dodge Viper Chapter 3: The Courtship of Carroll and Ford • The intriguing backstory behind reuniting Shelby and Ford Chapter 4: Project Petunia • 2005 Ford GT, Shelby’s first official role Chapter 5: Codename Daisy • Carroll’s involvement in “Daisy,” the Shelby Cobra Concept Chapter 6: Shelby GR1 • Carroll and the Shelby GR1, successor to the legendary Shelby Daytona. • The stillborn efforts to put Daisy and GR1 into production Chapter 7: Project Condor • How Shelby’s name finally appeared on a Ford product - the Shelby GT500 Chapter 8: Shelby GTs • The untold story of the ill-fated Shelby GT, a worthy successor to the Ford GT • How the Hertz Shelby Mustang GTH led to the introduction of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT Chapter 9: Super Snakes • Our efforts to create and Shelby Super Snake II Cobra • Shelby American’s introduction of the Super Snake Mustangs Chapter 10: Interesting Interests • In the midst of the “Great Recession,” I try to capture Carroll’s multi-faceted personality; his curiosity, interests, storytelling, humour, connections, temperament, stubbornness, vanity, charm, philanthropy, controversies, wisdom and friendship Chapter 11: Unfinished Business • The 2010 Shelby GT500 • Shelby GT350 • Progress on Super Snake II • Plans for a new line of Shelby Cobras and Daytonas • Carroll’s untimely death Chapter 12: Kismet • The Shelby Tribute • Shelby American’s ongoing operation • The serendipitous circumstances leading “Daisy,” the last Shelby Cobra coming home • Thanks to Carroll for the memories Epilogue • Lessons from Carroll • The future of “sport” cars Acknowledgments • Thanks to the many contributors who helped make this book possible, starting with Edsel Ford II Appendix: • Letter from Roy Lunn • Dan Gurney tribute speech • Project team members: Viper, Petunia, Daisy, GR1, GT500

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[Aircraft] should delight readers. The layout is compelling and makes flipping through the book easy and enjoyable." – General Aviation News "The book offers history and roles of aircraft, from the first prototypes of flying machines to today's supersonic jets." – AOPA.org (Aircraft owners and Pilots Association) "[E]ach page of Aircraft is beautifully illustrated, balanced with captions and relevant details." – Cumberland Times-News "This well laid out coffee table book presents the evolution of aircraft from the earliest beginnings up to present day by presenting excellent photographs of each type. It is rare these days to find an aviation book of this size that is four-color throughout and with the quality of printing this work exhibits." – American Aviation Historical Society Flightline Magazine

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Book SynopsisThe story of London’s main line railway beneath the streets, from its origins in the nineteenth century to its opening in the second decade of the twenty-first century

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Book SynopsisWhat the f*ck is the Cloud, and how does it even work?Ah, The Cloud. It's such a useful bit of tech jargon isn't it? The kind that's casually thrown around in work meetings by bosses who (kind of) understand and maybe even at the nerdier type of dinner or drinks parties. People joke about the cloud while others take it for granted and some worry about this mysterious entity where all of our data is stored, accessible at the touch of a screen from anywhere on Earth. But what even is the cloud, and for that matter, where is the cloud?Join us on a journey from the very first iterations of the internet that we know and (sometimes) love, all the way through thorny issues of data collection and storage (weren't we all fooled by the 'ten years on' social media trend, even as we rely on cloud-stored photos of cats to cheer us up?) and discover the mysterious place where The Cloud ominously hovers.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“This work provides an enjoyable tour through Einstein’s scientific career and discoveries. This is not so much a straightforward biography of Einstein as a presentation of his thought processes, and a pleasant, informative, and well-paced description of what Einstein accomplished as a scientist.”—Donald Goldsmith, author of Einstein’s Greatest Blunder?“Steven Gimbel is one of a kind. He can explain the science, the philosophy, and the personal and professional life of Einstein, and do so with clarity, sophistication, and panache.”—Peter Achinstein, author of Evidence and Method

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