History of engineering and technology Books

Book SynopsisThis book deals with the civil engineering heritage of the capital and Thames Valley. The development of London has attracted the design and construction skills of a range of eminent civil engineers and contractors. The work of Sir Marc and I K Brunel, the Rennie family, Robert Stephenson, William Cubitt, Sir Joseph Bazelgette, and many others is included.The books in this series have all been designed specifically as guide books for exploring these landmarks, and provide the reader with a ticket into Britain''s engineering history.Table of ContentsMetric equivalents Introduction Thames river engineering Public health engineering The Port of London Rivers and canals Roads and road transport Railways Energy generation and distribution Notable buildings The Thames Valley Additional sites General bibliography Name index Subject index

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Book SynopsisA history of the excesses of capitalism's rampant fossil fuel consumption since 1950.Trade Review'An extraordinarily ambitious, but arguably necessary task for our times' -- Paul Warde, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge'Insightful, precise and well-written, Burning Up turns energy consumption on its head. Pirani fills a crucial gap left by a mountain of shiny but vacuous reports and not enough solid history ... Anybody fighting climate change should read this' -- Mika Minio-Paluello, campaigner at Platform London and co-author of The Oil Road: journeys from the Caspian Sea to the City of London (Verso, 2013)'This meticulous depiction of how fossil fuels are woven into our human systems - not only technological but also economic, social and political - is an invaluable aid to getting them back under control' -- Walt Patterson, author of Electricity vs Fire (2015)'Explains the technological, social and economic processes that have prioritised a particular way of satisfying society's demand for energy services' -- Michael Bradshaw, Professor of Global Energy, Warwick Business School, UK, author of Global Energy Dilemmas (2013)'Burning Up is a vital contribution to the climate movement. A first step to organizing around its insights will be to ensure it is widely read in the movement, and by those whose lives will be affected by climate change' -- Climate and Capitalism'Recommended' -- CHOICE'This comprehensive book provides a modern history of global fossil fuel consumption. Authoritative and well researched, it provides a solid bedrock to understand the ins and outs of fuels' -- Bright Green'An essential tool for understanding fossil fuel consumption in terms of the vested interests who have benefited from it' -- Ann Pettifor, GuardianTable of ContentsFigures Tables Acknowledgements Units of Measurement Acronyms and Abbreviations Introduction Part I: Contexts 1. Fossil Fuels Before 1950 2. Energy Technologies 3. Energy in Society 4. Fossil Fuel Consumption in Numbers Part II: Chronologies 5. The 1950s and 1960s: Post-War Boom 6. The 1970s: Crises and Oil Price Shocks 7. Patterns of Electrification 8. The 1980s: Recession and Recovery 9. The 1990s: Shunning the Global Warming Challenge 10. The 2000s: Acceleration Renewed Part III: Reflections 11. Interpretations and Ideologies 12. Possibilities 13. Conclusions Appendices Notes Further Reading and Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA history of the excesses of capitalism's rampant fossil fuel consumption since 1950.Trade Review'An extraordinarily ambitious, but arguably necessary task for our times' -- Paul Warde, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge'Insightful, precise and well-written, Burning Up turns energy consumption on its head. Pirani fills a crucial gap left by a mountain of shiny but vacuous reports and not enough solid history ... Anybody fighting climate change should read this' -- Mika Minio-Paluello, campaigner at Platform London and co-author of The Oil Road: journeys from the Caspian Sea to the City of London (Verso, 2013)'This meticulous depiction of how fossil fuels are woven into our human systems - not only technological but also economic, social and political - is an invaluable aid to getting them back under control' -- Walt Patterson, author of Electricity vs Fire (2015)'Explains the technological, social and economic processes that have prioritised a particular way of satisfying society's demand for energy services' -- Michael Bradshaw, Professor of Global Energy, Warwick Business School, UK, author of Global Energy Dilemmas (2013)'Burning Up is a vital contribution to the climate movement. A first step to organizing around its insights will be to ensure it is widely read in the movement, and by those whose lives will be affected by climate change' -- Climate and Capitalism'Recommended' -- CHOICE'This comprehensive book provides a modern history of global fossil fuel consumption. Authoritative and well researched, it provides a solid bedrock to understand the ins and outs of fuels' -- Bright Green'An essential tool for understanding fossil fuel consumption in terms of the vested interests who have benefited from it' -- Ann Pettifor, GuardianTable of ContentsFigures Tables Acknowledgements Units of Measurement Acronyms and Abbreviations Introduction Part I: Contexts 1. Fossil Fuels Before 1950 2. Energy Technologies 3. Energy in Society 4. Fossil Fuel Consumption in Numbers Part II: Chronologies 5. The 1950s and 1960s: Post-War Boom 6. The 1970s: Crises and Oil Price Shocks 7. Patterns of Electrification 8. The 1980s: Recession and Recovery 9. The 1990s: Shunning the Global Warming Challenge 10. The 2000s: Acceleration Renewed Part III: Reflections 11. Interpretations and Ideologies 12. Possibilities 13. Conclusions Appendices Notes Further Reading and Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis major new book provides a concise history of optical media from Renaissance linear perspective to late twentieth-century computer graphics. Kittler begins by looking at European painting since the Renaissance in order to discern the principles according to which modern optical perception was organized.Trade Review'Friedrich Kittler's Optical Media is not only, as its jacket-copy and introduction claim, its author's "best book for the uninitiated"; it is also one of his wittiest.' Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 'Kittler's lectures provide stimulating and provocative reading.' New Formations 'Kittler's analysis is always rich and involving, describing a complex path of theoretical and factual relations.' Neural 'Optical Media is the most engaging and accessible of Friedrich Kittler's books. It starts out with a clear presentation of Kittler'smedia-theoretical premises and then offers a fascinating tour through the history of storing, manipulating and projecting light. Witty, insightful, provocative, at times outrageous but always stimulating, Optical Media is not only an overlooked back entrance into the study of visual media from the Renaissance to the present, it is also an equally helpful back entrance into Kittler's own theory.' Geoffrey Winthrop-Young 'Kittler is the preeminent thinker of time-based media and what it means to edit the flow of time with technical means. Brilliant and remarkably original, he offers a kind of media analysis whose method is dialectically acute and philosophically deep. No one interested in what it means to live in a media-saturated age can neglecthis vital and controversial work.' John Durham Peters, The University of IowaTable of ContentsPreliminary Remarks 1. Theoretical Presuppositions 2. Technologies of the Fine Arts 2.1 Camera Obscura and Linear Perspective 2.1.1 Prehistory 2.1.1.1 Greeks and Arabs 2.1.2 Implementation 2.1.2.1 Brunelleschi 2.1.2.2 Alberti 2.1.3 Impact 2.1.3.1 Perspective and Letterpress 2.1.3.2 The Self-Printing of Nature 2.1.3.3 Europe’s Colonial Power 2.2 Laterna Magica and the Age of the World Picture 2.2.1 Magic Lanterns in Action 2.2.2 Implementation 2.2.3 Impact 2.2.3.1 Propaganda 2.2.3.2 Heidegger’s Age of the World Picture 2.2.3.3 Jesuits and Optical Media 2.3.3.4 Travelling People 2.2.3.5 Jesuit Churches 2.2.3.6 Jesuit Theatre 2.3 Enlightenment and Image War 2.3.1 Brockes 2.3.2 Phenomenology from Lambert to Hegel 2.3.3 Ghost Seer 2.3.3.1 Schiller 2.3.3.2 Hoffmann 2.3.4 Romantic Poetry 3. Optical Media 3.1 Photography 3.1.1 Prehistory 3.1.2 Implementation 3.1.2.1 Niépce and Daguerre 3.1.2.2 Talbot 3.1.3 Painting and Photography: A Battle for the Eyeballs 3.2 Film 3.2.1 Preludes 3.2.2 Implementation 3.2.2.1 Marey and Muybridge 3.2.2 Silent Film 3.2.3 Sound Film 3.2.4 Colour Film 3.3 Television 4. Computer

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Picks up where Paul Starr's Social Transformation of AmericanMedicine left off, and will soon become a classic of equalstature." --nne Ladd, product manager, Physician Market,Micromedex, Englewood, Colorado "The authors will enlighten and entertain you--and challenge yourcurrent mental model of health care. Their discussion of theInternet and clinical information technology is worth the price ofthe book." --Leland R. Kaiser, president, Kaiser Consulting,Brighton, Colorado "A thorough review of a complex subject, and done in a way that iseasily accessible. The scenarios represent a valuable startingpoint for health care leaders to begin to dialogue and learn aboutwhere health care may be headed." --John Koster, M.D., senior vicepresident/chief medical officer, Sisters of Providence HealthSystem, Seattle, Washington "Provides great historical perspective on the changes that healthcare has experienced, but more important, it sets the stage for thefuture. It puts together a compelling case and several excitingscenarios to move us to a new reality." --Kathryn E. Johnson, CEO,The Health Forum, San Francisco, California "Offers valuable insights about where healthcare is headed. Thefour scenarios offer food for thought and represent a valuableplanning tool for medical groups and others in healthcare."--Patrick A. Hinton, executive director, Jacksonville OrthopaedicInstitute, Jacksonville, Florida "This easy-to-read book will appeal to physicians and otherinterested in becoming more knowledgeable about the social,political, and economic problems facing medical practice Especiallyuseful are the book's discussions of various actual and proposedpayment plans...worth a quick read." (The Permenente Journal,Winter/01)Table of ContentsForeword by Leland Kaiser. Acknowledgements. Preface. The Authors. LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PAST TWO DECADES. Twenty Years of Health Care Revolution: A Look Back. The Maturing of Managed Care. FINANCIAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO FUND HEALTH CARE. The Dynamics of the Health Care Marketplace. How Health Care SpAnding Will Develop: TrAnds from 2000 to2005. Who Pays for Benefits and Who Receives Them. EXTERNAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE HEALTH CARE MARKETPLACE OF THEFUTURE. The Growing Role of Consumers. The Changing Face of America. The Meaning of the Internet and Information Technology. The Impact of Genetic Research, New Drugs, and Advances in MedicalTechnology. TrAnds in Consolidation, Ownership, and Capacity. The Effect of Changes in Public Policy. The Potential of Different Payment System Models. BEYOND MANAGED CARE: SCENARIOS FOR THE FUTURE. Four Health Care Scenarios. Learning from Analysis of the Four Scenarios. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisSince the unprecedentedly effective performance of the allied air campaign against Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, the role of American air power in future wars has become a topic of often heated public debate. In this balanced appraisal of air power''s newly realized strengths in joint warfare, Benjamin Lambeth, a defense analyst and civilian pilot who has flown in most of the equipment described in this book, explores the extent to which the United States can now rely on air-delivered precision weapons in lieu of ground forces to achieve strategic objectives and minimize American casualties.Beginning with the U.S. experience in Southeast Asia and detailing how failures there set the stage for a sweeping refurbishment of the nation''s air warfare capability, Lambeth reviews the recent history of American air power, including its role in the Gulf War and in later conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Serbia. He examines improvements in areas ranging from hardware development tTrade ReviewThe Transformation of American Air Power, like Lambeth's other research published by RAND, is reasoned and informed. It should be read and thought about by all who are interested in questions of roles and missions and air power in its various manifestations. -- Dr. Mark D. Mandeles, The J. de Block Group * Air Power History *Ben Lambeth's new book, The Transformation of American Air Power, is destined to join the 'must read' list. At a time when air and space power is becoming a dominant force in peace and war in a global society, Lambeth provides a book which strips away much of the smokescreen invoked by those who would be threatened by a straightforward documentation of the failures and the most recent successes of air power since the Vietnam War.... The Transformation of American Air Power should be read by all military professionals and interested citizens who want to know more about the forces that will shape and dominate the Twenty-First Century commercial and military battlespace. Anyone called on to explain what air and space power means to all the United States will find this book a rich source of history and vision. -- General Ron Fogleman * The Daedalian Flyer *Lambeth's book is a synthetic and interpretive narrative that insightfully illuminates in a controversial way the numerous uses and misuses of US airpower during the last 35 years.... This seminal work is written at many levels and will be of particular use to military professionals and civilian policy makers. * Choice *This work is important for its historical research and for its policy relevance and should be read by students of the history of warfare and of American military policy. * Virginia Quarterly Review *A good description of weapons development and a current air force structure and mission is made even more valuable by a concluding chapter about air force philosoply, air power theory, and the battle over resources and doctrine.... Recommended as a good introduction to air power technology and ideology. * Library Journal *

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Book SynopsisAn intriguing book about the aesthetics of technological objects and the relationship between technical and artistic accomplishment.Trade ReviewArtifice and Design is a fascinating book in the philosophical anthropology of art and technology. Arguing against the injustice of the dualism of technology and aesthetics, Barry Allen proves that they always go hand in hand and provides numerous examples to overcome the dichotomy. Skeptical of the rationalism that distinguishes art from science, he strongly endorses the cultivation of aesthetic design and ongoing attention to the human perceptual interface with artifice. -- Albena Yaneva * Isis *Allen looks at familiar ideas from a fresh and generally passionate angle.... He frequently uses bridges as a way of illustrating the convergences and relationships he explores, and Artifice and Design touches on disciplines ranging from cognitive psychology to history and from sociology to evolutionary biology.... Allen is as likely to talk, and talk well, about vectors and static equilibrium as about the ideas of Aristotle and the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi.... What results is a compelling and unique work that argues that art and technology, far from needing a conscious effort to be brought together, would require a vigorous effort to be kept apart. * Civil Engineering *Situated at the intersection of philosophy of technology and philosophy of art, this book explores the influence of aesthetic considerations on technical design and the impact of technology on art. It is more a philosophical commonplace book than a systematic treatise, but this is its great virtue. Allen displays formidable erudition, drawing on a wide range of natural and social scientific literatures, art history, and both the Continental and analytical philosophical traditions. The book is packed with fascinating and sometimes little-known information about human evolution (particularly the evolution of the human hand, language, and cognition), the design of bridges, the history of technology, the nature of tools (and how they are unique to humans), and a host of other subjects.... The book is full of insights into art and technology, and all readers interested in philosophy of technology or philosophy of art can learn something from it. * Choice *

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Book SynopsisThe nineteenth century saw not only the emergence of the telegraph, the telephone, and the typewriter but also a fascination with séances and occult practices like automatic writing as a means for contacting the dead. Like the new technologies, modern spiritualism promised to link people separated by space or circumstance; and like them as well, it depended on the presence of a human medium to convey these conversations. Whether electrical or otherworldly, these communications were remarkably often conductedin offices, at telegraph stations and telephone switchboards, and in séance parlorsby women. In The Sympathetic Medium, Jill Galvan offers a richly nuanced and culturally grounded analysis of the rise of the female medium in Great Britain and the United States during the Victorian era and through the turn of the century. Examining a wide variety of fictional explorations of feminine channeling (in both the technological and supernatural realms) by such authors as Henry JamTrade ReviewGalvan's thesis analyzes women’s work as transmitters of messages, not only in the spirit realm but increasingly in the late nineteenth century as teelgraphists, typists, and telephone operators.... This approach to notions of occult and technological channeling offers a thoroughly interesting and well-focused engagement with the subject.... Overall, this is a detailed and exceptionally well-informed study that provides some delightful analyses of literary texts. -- Catherine Wynne * English Literature in Transition 1880–1920 *

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Book Synopsis"Color Monitors looks at a particular subset of imagined computer use, focusing on scenarios that demand from the person at the keyboard an intimate technical knowledge. My research has uncovered a peculiar pattern: race comes into sharp relief when...Trade Review"Color Monitors provides a much-needed survey of racialized representations vis-à-vis technology in contemporary mainstream American culture. Martin Kevorkian navigates among film, advertisements, and narrative fiction in a writing style that is eminently readable without eschewing complexity." -- Alexander Weheliye, Northwestern University"Martin Kevorkian argues, with wit and variety, that technology has become a preferred cultural tactic for containing blackness. Kevorkian's insight that the same dynamic that made slavery foundational to the American national project is also at work now in the technological formations of empire is astonishing." -- Joseph Tabbi, University of Illinois at Chicago

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Book SynopsisOver the past five centuries, advances in Western understanding of and control over the material world have strongly influenced European responses to non-Western peoples and cultures. In Machines as the Measure of Men, Michael Adas explores the ways in which European perceptions of their scientific and technological superiority shaped their...Trade ReviewProvocative and fascinating.... Adas's deft use of quotation gives the missionaries, travelers, explorers, administrators, and teachers their authentic voices. He provides a wealth of documentation. One learns things worth knowing on every page.... One leaves Machines as the Measure of Men persuaded by its essential analysis: that mastery of nature lay at the heart of Europe's comparison of itself to others. As an intellectual history of French and British assessments of Africa, China, and India, the book is wonderfully informative and nuanced. It will alter the debate about the history of Europe's relationship to the rest of the world. * New York Times Book Review *The terrain of Adas's magnificent book is vast. He starts with the first encounters of intrepid European explorers in the seventeenth century and ends with the seeds of doubt which the Great War in Europe sowed in the western civilizing process.... A vast range of sources are cited. Alternatives to the predominant ideology of western scientific and technological progress are explored, and the potential for diffusion of science and technology into different third world societies is also illuminated. * Times Higher Education Supplement *Remarkable' is an adjective that is most appropriate for this study. Broad in interpretation, rich in detail, and supported by a wealth of information, Michael Adas's work will command the attention of every scholar of modern imperialism, every student of the broad subject of 'technology.'... Adas offers an example of popular history at its very best, which is cultural history exquisitely constructed of detailed research, a well-designed overarching theme, and nicely polished prose.... It will long be pivotal in all discussions that revolve around the technology and culture of modern European expansion. In sum, this is a most compelling, splendid book. * American Historical Review *Table of ContentsPreface to the 2014 EditionIntroductionPart I. Before the Industrial RevolutionChapter 1. First Encounters: Impressions of Material Culture in an Age of ExplorationTechnology—Perceptions of Backwardness: Qualified Praise"Natural Philosophy"—Illiteracy and Faulty CalendarsScientific and Technological Convergence and the First Hierarchies of HumankindChapter 2. The Ascendancy of Science: Shifting Views of Non-Western Peoples in the Era of the EnlightenmentModel of Clay: The Rise and Decline of Sinophilism in Enlightenment ThoughtAncient Glories, Modern Ruins: The Orientalist Discover of Indian LearningAfrican Achievement and the Debate over the Abolition of the Slave TradeScientific Gauges and the Spirit of the TimesPart II. The Age of IndustrializationChapter 3. Global Hegemony and the Rise of Technology as the Main Measure of Human AchievementAfrica: Primitive Tools and the Savage MindIndia: The Retreat of Orienta1ismChina: Despotism and DeclineMateria1 Mastery as a Prerequisite of Civilized LifeChapter 4. Attributes of the Dominant: Scientific and Technological Foundations of the Civilizing MissionPerceptions of Man and Nature as Gauges of Western Uniqueness and SuperiorityThe Machine as CivilizerDisplacement and Revolution: Marx on the Impact of Machines in AsiaTime, Work, and DisciplineSpace, Accuracy, and UniformityWorlds Apart: The Case of Ye Ming-chenChapter 5. The Limits of Diffusion: Science and Technology in the Debate over the African and Asian Capacity for AcculturationThe First Generations of ImproversThe Search for Scientific and Technological Proofs of Racial InequalityQualifying the Civilizing Mission: Racists versus Improvers at the Tum of the CenturyMissing the Main Point: Science and Technology in Nineteenth-Century Racist ThoughtPart III. The Twentieth CenturyChapter 6. The Great War and the Assault on Scientific and Technological Measures of Human WorthThe Specter of Asia IndustrializedTrench Warfare and the Crisis of Western CivilizationChallenges to the Civilizing Mission and the Search for Alternative Measures of Human WorthEpilogue: Modernization Theory and the Revival of the Technological StandardIndex

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Book SynopsisDouglas reveals the origins of a corporate media system that today dominates the content and form of American communication.Trade ReviewA superb portrait of the communications revolution that profoundly altered 20th-century life. It will provide fresh insights, and perhaps generate controversy. Washington Post Book World A successful, at times elegant interdisciplinary work. Douglas combines discussions of technology and of business structure, portraits of inventors and amateurs, and analysis of internal navy organization to construct a convincing narrative on the importance of the 'pre-history' of radio. She draws from an impressive range of contemporary newspapers and technical magazines, government and business reports, and personal correspondence. This is a significant contribution to the understanding of American radio. -- Robert B. Horowitz Business History Review Fascinating detail... A far clearer picture than has been previously available. Journal of CommunicationTable of ContentsList of IllustrationsPreface and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Marconi and the America's Cup: The Making of an Inventor-Hero, 18992. Competition over Wireless Technology: The Inventors' Struggles for Technical Distinction, 1899-19033. The Visions and Business Realities of the Inventors, 1899-19054. Wireless Telegraphy in the New navy, 1899-19065. Inventors as Entrepreneurs: Success and Failure in the Wireless Business, 1906-19126. Popular Culture and Populist Technology: The Amateur Operators, 1906-19127. The Titanic Disaster and the First Radio Regulation, 1910-19128. The Rise of Military and Corporate Control, 1912-19199. The Social Construction of American Broadcasting, 1912-1922EpilogueNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisThe recipient of the Society of American Archivists' Waldo Gifford Leland Prize and the Association for Business Communication's Alpha Kappa Psi Award for Distinguished Publication on Business Communication, Yates discusses how modern managerial systems evolved within the American business system.Trade Review[This book's] timeliness is remarkable. Now that the Western system of responsible (that is, profit-based) production has emerged as the victor over command economies, the secrets of how we did it may replace foreign relations as 'topic A' at conferences, and historians who continue to reject 'material civilization' as unworthy of genuine scholars will do so at their peril. American Historical Review A superb historical analysis of the philosophical and technological forces that led to the development of communication genres and processes in the modern American corporation. Journal of Business CommunicationTable of ContentsList of IllustrationsForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Transformation of Internal Communication1. material Methods and the Fuctions of Internal Communication2. Communication Technology and the Growth of Internal Communication3. Genres of Internal Communication4. The Illinois Central before 1887: Communication for Compliance and Efficiency7. Du Pont's First Century: Conservatism in Family and Firm8. Du Pont, 1902-1920: Radical Change from a New GenerationConclusionNotesA Note on Archival SourcesIndex

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Book SynopsisAwarded the Dexter Prize by the Society for the History of Technology, this book offers a comparative history of the evolution of modern electric power systems. It described large-scale technological change and demonstrates that technology cannot be understood unless placed in a cultural context.Trade ReviewAn exciting, major contribution to the field of history, for it establishes very convincingly that the growth of... power networks is as intrinsic to and characteristic of modern society as the growth of manorialism was to medieval society. American Historical Review How the West was wired. Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsPreface1. Introduction2. Edison the Hedgehog: Invention and Development3. Edison's System Abroad: Technology Transfer4. Reverse Salients and Critical Problems5. Conflict and Resolution6. Technological Momentum7. Berlin: The Coordination of Technology and Politics8. Chicago: The Dominance of Technology9. London: The Primary of Politics10. California White Coal11. War and Acquired Characteristics12. Planned Systems13. The Culture of Regional Systems14. RWE, PP&L, and NESCO: The

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Book SynopsisShe examines advancements in water-supply and waste-management technology, the architectural considerations these amenities entailed, and the scientific approach to sanitation that began to emerge by century's end.Trade Review"An essential perspective on the modern world... The text offers an abundance of detailed information on the development of tubs, showers, toilets, and sinks... Goes well beyond any provious account in delineating how fresh and waste water systems had an impact on domestic life in the mid-nineteenth century. American Studies InternationalTable of ContentsPreface and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Domestic Reform and American Household Plumbing, 1840-18702. Water Supply and Waste Disposal for the Convenient House3. Convenience Embodied: Midcentury Plumbing Fixtures4. The End of Convenience: Science, Sanitation, and Professionalism, 1870-18905. The Sanitarians Take Charge: Scientific Plumbing in the American HomeConclusionNotesNote on SourcesIndex

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Book SynopsisAs a new way to conceptualize the history of computing, this book will be of great interest to historians of science, technology, and culture, as well as computer scientists and theorists. Between Human and Machine: Feedback, Control, and Computing before CyberneticsTrade Review[Mindell's] account of this complex story of engineering, people, and organizations-academic, industrial and govenment-is well researched and well told. -- Stuart Bennett International Journal of Adaptive Control and Signal Processing 2004 While one might think a history of servomechanisms, feedback loops, and fire control systems would be of interest only to a narrow audience, one of David A. Mindell's great achievements in this rich and multilayered book is to show the centrality of control systems-the machines (and humans) that control machines-to the history of computing, the history of technology, and indeed to American history in the twentieth century. -- Ross Bassett American Historical Review In contextualizing the theory of cybernetics, Mindell gives engineering back forgotten parts of its history, and shows how important historical circumstances are to technological change... Mindell is scrupulous about providing this historical context; providing biographical insight into the major players in the history; and giving the reader a good sense of what it was like to be a Bell Labs scientist, or an engineer for Sperry. -- Michele Tepper Networker The book is an eye-opener in understanding who our engineering ancestors were and what they did. -- David L. Elliott IEEE Control Systems Magazine 2003 In an exceptionally insightful and lucid account, Mindell shows how engineering cultures emerging in specific institutional contexts profoundly shaped the design of human-machine systems and defined the human operator as part of a larger technological system. -- Slava Gerovitch IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 2004 This is a good and surprising book. It is good in its articulate survey of dynamic man-machine systems in the period from 1916 to 1948; it is surprising in its convincing revision of our picture of the origins of the computer and cybernetics. -- Larry Owens Technology and Culture 2003 The reader who makes the effort to follow Mindell's argument will be rewarded with a fresh insight into the emergence of the digital computer and all that its invention implies. -- Paul E. Ceruzzi Journal of American History 2004 This book is the first major study by a professional historian and as such should help to draw the attention of historians to the embeddedness of feedback control in 20th century technological systems. -- Stuart Bennett International Journal of Adaptive Control and Signal Processing 2004 A joy for both engineers and historians... Mindell's major contribution is to explore in abundant and fascinating detail the intellectual and physical roots of cybernetics in fields as distinct as communications engineering, military fire control, and analog computing. -- Karl D. Stephan IEEE Technology and Society Magazine 2004Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments1. Introduction: A History of Control Systems2. Naval Control Systems: The Bureau of Ordnance and the Ford Instrument Company3. Taming the Beasts of the Machine Age: The Sperry Company4. Opening Black's Box: Bell Labs and the Transmission of Signals5. Artificial Representation of Power Systems: Analog Computing at MIT6. Dress Rehearsal for War: The Four Horsemen and Palomar7. Organizing for War: The Fire Control Divisions of the NDRC8. The Servomechanisms Laboratory and Fire Control for the Masses9. Analog's Finest Hour10. Radar and System Integration at the Radiation Laboratory11. Cybernetics and Ideas of the Digital12. Conclusion: Feedback and Information in 1945Appendix A: Algorithm of the Ford Rangekeeper Mark 1Appendix B: NDRC Section D-2 and Division 7 Contracts for Fire ControlAppendix C: Algorithm of Bell Labs' T-10 DirectorNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThoroughly expanded and updated, this pioneering work continues to be the "ur-textof hypertext studies.Trade ReviewChallenges the reader... Because it invites (and nearly requires) readers to place themselves in more than one position: as a student of communication theory, as a student of computer science, as a student of academic publishing, or as a student of literature. -- Paul Baker Education PR Blog 2007Table of ContentsPreface: Why Hypertext 3.0?Acknowledgments1. Hypertext: An IntroductionHypertextual Derrida, Poststructuralist Nelson?The Definition of Hypertext and Its History as a ConceptVery Active ReadersVannevar Bush and the MemexForms of Linking, Their Uses and LimitationsLinking in Open Hypermedia Systems: Vannevar Bush Walks the WebHypertext without Links?The Place of Hypertext in the History of Information TechnologyInteractive or Ergodic?Baudrillard, Binarity, and the DigitalBooks Are Technology, TooAnalogues to the Gutenberg Revolution2. Hypertext and Critical TheoryTextual OpennessHypertext and IntertextualityHypertext and MultivocalityHypertext and DecenteringHypertext as RhizomeThe Nonlinear Model of the Network in Current Critical TheoryCause or Convergence, Influence or Confluence?3. Reconfiguring the TextReconfiguring the TextThe In MemoriamWebNew Forms of Discursive Prose—Academic Writing and WeblogsProblems with Terminology: What Is the Object We Read, and What Is a Text in Hypertext?Visual Elements in Print TextAnimated TextStretchtextThe Dispersed TextHypertextual Translation of Scribal CultureA Third Convergence: Hypertext and Theories of Scholarly EditingHypertext, Scholarly Annotation, and the Electronic Scholarly EditionHypertext and the Problem of Text StructureArgumentation, Organization, and RhetoricBeginnings in the Open TextEndings in the Open TextBoundaries of the Open TextThe Status of the Text, Status in the TextHypertext and Decentrality: The Philosophical Grounding4. Reconfiguring the AuthorErosion of the SelfHow the Print Author Differs from the Hypertext AuthorVirtual PresenceCollaborative Writing, Collaborative AuthorshipExamples of Collaboration in Hypertext5. Reconfiguring WritingThe Problematic Concept of DisorientationThe Concept of Disorientation in the HumanitiesThe Love of PossibilitiesThe Rhetoric and Stylistics of Writing for E-Space; or, How Should We Write Hypertext?Hypertext as Collage WritingIs This Hypertext Any Good? Or, How Do We Evaluate Quality in Hypermedia?6. Reconfiguring NarrativeApproaches to Hypertext Fiction—Some Opening RemarksHypertext and the Aristotelian Conception of PlotQuasi-Hypertextuality in Print TextsAnswering Aristotle: Hypertext and the Nonlinear PlotPrint Anticipations of Multilinear Narratives in E-SpaceNarrative Beginnings and EndingsMichael Joyce's afternoonStitching Together Narrative, Sexuality, Self: Shelley Jackson's Patchwork GirlQuibbling: A Feminist Rhizome NarrativeStoryworlds and Other Forms of Hypertext NarrativesComputer Games, Hypertext, and NarrativeDigitizing the Movies: Interactive versus Multiplied CinemaIs Hypertext Fiction Possible?7. Reconfiguring Literary EducationThreats and PromisesReconfiguring the InstructorReconfiguring the StudentLearning the Culture of a DisciplineNontraditional Students: Distant Learners and Readers outside Educational InstitutionsThe Effects of Hypermedia in Teaching and LearningReconfiguring Assignments and Methods of EvaluationA Hypertext ExerciseReconceiving Canon and CurriculumCreating the New Discursive WritingFrom Intermedia to the Web—Losses and GainsAnswered Prayers, or the Academic Politics of ResistanceWhat Chance Has Hypertext in Education?Getting the Paradigm RightThe Politics of Hypertext: Who Controls the Text? Can Hypertext Empower Anyone? Does Hypertext Have a Political Logic?The Marginalization of Technology and the Mystification of LiteratureThe Politics of Particular TechnologiesTechnology as ProsthesisThe Political Vision of Hypertext; or, the Message in the MediumHypertext and Postcolonial Literature, Criticism, and TheoryInfotech, Empires, and DecolonizationHypertext as Paradigm for PostcolonialityForms of Postcolonial AmnesiaHypertext as Paradigm inPostcolonial TheoryThe Politics of AccessWho Can Make Links, Who Decides What Is Linked?Slashdot: The Reader as Writer and Editor in a Multiuser WeblogPornography, Gambling, and Law on the Internet—Vulnerability and Invulnerability in E-SpaceAccess to the Text and the Author's Right (Copyright)Is the Hypertextual World of the Internet Anarchy or Big Brother's Realm?NotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisMorton, so have business strategies, patent battles, and a host of other factors.Trade ReviewTraces the development of sound technology in the U.S. and Europe from the first demonstration of the phono-autograph in 1857 to the latest MP3 technology. Morton skillfully blends a basic understanding of the physical principles involved in recording sound waves with an interesting chronological account that examines the cultural and economic issues affecting the development of sound technology... Written in an engaging style for general readers and includes references to primary and scholarly resources for readers who want to learn more. ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroductionTimeline1. Birth of Recording2. Out of the Laboratory3. The Commercial Debut of Sound Recording Devices4. The Introduction of Discs5. Recording in the Business World6. The Heyday of the Photograph7. The Talkies8. Records and Radio in the United States9. The Crucial 1930s10. Recording in World War II11. The Postwar Scene12. Hi-Fi13. Revolution in the Studio14. Mobile Sound15. Cassette to Compact Disc16. Record Companies versus the World17. Online Music and the Future of ListeningGlossaryBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisBy the end of World War II, the very concept of landing blind therefore had disappeared from the trade literature, a victim of human limitations.Trade ReviewCompact but quite readable book; it should interest all airline passengers who wonder how pilots land safely in an environment where they can barely see their hands before their faces. Choice 2007 A key piece in the patchwork of the history of aviation. -- Christian Gelzer Journal of Transport History 2007 Conway's intelligent analysis differentiates this volume from many books on the history of aviation... Blind Landings sheds badly needed light. -- Dominick A. Pisano Isis 2008 Another good illustration from aviation history... of the ways in which politics, ideology, culture, and even nature play constitutive roles in the development and use of technologies. -- Chihyung Jeon Technology and Culture 2008Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction1. Instrumental Faith2. Places to Land Blind3. Radio Blind Flying4. The Promise of Microwaves5. Instrument Landing Goes to War6. The Intrusion of Newcomers7. The Politics of Blind Landing8. TransformationsConclusionNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisWhether you dream of making a better mousetrap or launching pumpkins into the stratosphere, Ingenium will tickle your fancy.Trade ReviewDenny has produced a book that is both educational and entertaining. Physics World 2007 This book will give the reader an appreciation of the effectiveness of ancient technology. It will also be a useful reference for engineering and physics instructors. -- Eugene E. Nalence Science Books and Films 2007 User friendly, filled with humor and practicality... not only 'technology wizes' but 'history buffs' and humanists too will enjoy and profit from this book. -- Ilia Stambler European Legacy 2008 The subject matter is extremely well described. -- Brian Gee School Science Review 2008 A well-written, illustrated, and informative book that is readable to all but the mentally lazy. Choice 2008 [ Ingenium] is a good place to learn how they actually worked and how far they could effectively serve the purposes of those who made and used them. -- Alex Keller Technology and Culture 2010Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsTimelineIntroduction1. Bow and Arrow2. Waterwheels and Windmills3. Counterpoise Siege Engines4. Pendulum Clock Anchor Escapement5. Centrifugal Governor6. InventivenessFurther ReadingIndex

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Book SynopsisTechnology is an entry point for American studies scholars to find ways to think through social and cultural problems. This book presents a collection of essays that provides an interdisciplinary exploration of the ways scholars of culture use the study of technology to examine the flows, conflicts, tensions, and hazards of American culture.

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Book SynopsisBased upon extensive research in both manuscript and printed sources from the period between 1760 and 1830, this book will be of interest to historians of the early republic and economic historians as well as to students of technology, business, and industry.Trade ReviewA short review cannot do justice to everything that Peskin has crammed into a book that should prove of interest to business, cultural, economic, and social historians. Historian 2006 An exceptional study of the actors, events, and especially the ideas that laid the groundwork for industrialization in the early American republic. Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 2006 Well-structured and clearly written. History of Education Quarterly 2004 Peskin argues that historians have focused too much attention on the process of the Industrial Revolution without properly considering the men who actually convinced the rest of society to go along for the ride. History: Reviews of New Books 2004 Manufacturing Revolution is an important work that greatly enhances understanding of the events that led to the Industrial Revolution, and scholars with interests ranging from the effects of the American Revolution to the economy of the early republic will profit much by reading it. Enterprise and Society 2004 This book offers strong support for interpreting the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as setting a solid foundation for American manufacturing. Peskin provides valuable documentation that this period witnessed ferment in the debate and promotion of manufacturing. EH.Net 2004 Peskin examines the intellectual foundations of economic growth in the early Republic. Choice 2004Table of ContentsSeries Editor's ForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: The Revolutionary Era1. The British Economic System2. Manufacturing and Revolution3. Lurching toward Economic IndependencePart II: The Critical Period4. Mechanic Protectionism5. Manufacturing Societies6. Agricultural SocietiesPart III: Toward Industrialization7. Redefining Manufacturing8. Promoting Manufacturing in the New Century9. Political Parties and Manufactures10. Harmony and Discord in the "Era of Good Feelings"EpilogueNotesEssay on SourcesIndex

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Book SynopsisBased on the latest research, this crisply written, sometimes provocative survey includes a glossary, timeline, and bibliography for further reading.Trade ReviewTracing the history of television from early inception through golden age, to the current world of flat screens, cable, and satellites, Magoun comprehensively overviews a medium now in everyone's memory... Readers are left with an appreciation for an old friend that they enjoyed having around, as well as recognition of the role that television has played in making entertainment and communication what it is today. Choice In this history of television, Magoun not only explains the development and basic workings of this technology but also the processes, personalities, and business decisions involved, and TV's impact on American values. In a 'life cycle' framework, he traces TV from its protracted birth through the death of cathode tube TVs and resurrection in digital form. The author addresses issues relating to the paternity of inventions, government regulation, and changing broadcast standards. Scitech Book News A handful of black-and-white photographs, a bibliography, and an index enhance this highly readable account, sure to fascinate lay readers and scholars alike. Midwest Book Review 2009 Offers anyone with an interest in the story behind television's history an interesting and highly readable view of many of the people, corporate entities, and government agencies crucial to its invention and its subsequent technological development. -- Patricia L. Dooley Journalism History 2010Table of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionTimeline1. Conception, 1873–19112. Birth of a Technology; or Invention, 1912–19283. Parenthood: Television's Innovation, 1928–19414. Working for a Living: Television's Commercialization, 1941–19665. Children of the Revolution, 1947–19876. The Digital Generation and the End of TelevisionGlossaryBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisUltimately, she shows how a few gifted students of nature changed the way we see ourselves and the universe.Trade ReviewAn invaluable contribution to the literature of the history and philosophy of science, presented with clarity, intelligence, and economy... Highly recommended. Choice 2011Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. The Western View of the World before 15002. Winds of Change: Searching for a New Philosophy of Nature3. Observing the Heavens: From Aristotelian Cosmology to the Uniformity of Nature4. Creating a New Philosophy of Nature5. Shifting Boundaries: From Mixed Mathematics to Mathematical Physics6. Exploring the Properties of Matter: Alchemy and Chemistry7. Studying Life: Plants, Animals, and Humans8. Rethinking the Universe: Newton on Gravity and GodEpilogueSuggested Further ReadingIndex

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Book SynopsisUltimately, she shows how a few gifted students of nature changed the way we see ourselves and the universe.Trade ReviewAn invaluable contribution to the literature of the history and philosophy of science, presented with clarity, intelligence, and economy... Highly recommended. Choice 2011Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. The Western View of the World before 15002. Winds of Change: Searching for a New Philosophy of Nature3. Observing the Heavens: From Aristotelian Cosmology to the Uniformity of Nature4. Creating a New Philosophy of Nature5. Shifting Boundaries: From Mixed Mathematics to Mathematical Physics6. Exploring the Properties of Matter: Alchemy and Chemistry7. Studying Life: Plants, Animals, and Humans8. Rethinking the Universe: Newton on Gravity and GodEpilogueSuggested Further ReadingIndex

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Book SynopsisOriginal and well told, this account argues that the greatest patriotic contribution of America's Midnight Rider was his work in helping the nation develop from a craft to an industrial economy.Trade ReviewMartello succeeds superbly in using Paul Revere as a lens to view the social, economic, and technological landscape of early America... Revere's adept transitions are matched only by Martello's adept retelling of them. Highly recommended. Choice 2011 Revere sensed that he was living in a time of unprecedented opportunity, and unlike some contemporaries who returned to small shops, he moved quickly from artisan to manager, from craftsman to industrialist. As Martello demonstrates in this fascinating study, the transition was not easy. Times Literary Supplement 2011 Martello's account of Revere's life is a welcome addition to the literature on American industry and on the founding fathers. -- Lawrence A. Peskin Common-Place 2011Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1. Artisan, Silversmith, and Businessman (1754–1775) Chapter 2. Patriot, Soldier, and Handyman of the Revolution (1775–1783)Chapter 3. Mercantile Ambitions and a New Look at Silver (1783–1789)Chapter 4. To Run a "Furnass": The Iron Years (1788–1792)Chapter 5. Bells, Cannon, and Malleable Copper (1792–1801)Chapter 6. Paul Revere's Last Ride: The Road to Rolling Copper (1798–1801) Chapter 7. The Onset of Industrial Capitalism: Managerial and Labor Adaptations (1802–1811)Chapter 8. Becoming Industrial: Technological Innovations and Environmental Implications (1802–1811) Conclusion Acknowledgments Appendixes1. Major Events in the Narratives of Paul Revere and America 2. Four Proto-industrial Production Factors and Major Linkages 3. Prevalent Craft and Industrial Practices in the Proto-industrial Period 4. Selected Revere Engravings 5. Furnace Startup Expenses for 1787–1788 6. April 1796 Payments to Faxon 7. Revere's Second Letter to Benjamin Stoddert, February 26, 1800 8. Employee Salaries, 1802–1806 9. Typical Stages in the Growth of a Large Technological System Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThis tells the story of Douglas Engelbart's revolutionary vision, reaching beyond conventional histories of Silicon Valley to probe the ideology that shaped some of the basic ingredients of contemporary life.Trade Review"Bootstrapping fills an important gap in the story of personal computing." -- Technology and Culture"Thierry Bardini particularly explores the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of Engelbart's book. . . . Indeed, the breadth of Engelbart's contributions and influence, documented in meticulous detail, are astonishing. . . ." -- Enterprise & Society"Anyone who has worked in computer-human interface or in and around Silicon Valley institutions such as SRI, Xerox PARC, IBM Almaden Research Center or Apple Computer will certainly relish this book. Moreover, those in a private, government or non-profit office filled with the fruits of contemporary productivity technology will appreciate Bardini's tales of politics, committees, funding and grants, demos to funders and skeptical management, and all those fascinating projects at PARC and SRI." -- Leonardo ReviewsTable of ContentsPart I. Premises: 1. A problematic picture of the personal interface 2. Social change and networks Part II. The Prehistory of the Laboratory: 3. Douglas C. Engelbart and the ARPA community 4. The augmentation framework and the relativist tradition Part III. Kinaesthetics and the Hypertextual Piano: Feeling the Code: 5. From physico-motor skills to kinaesthetic communication 6. The mouse is more than a pointing device Part IV. The Social Construction of the Personal Interface: 7. The beginnings of the hypermedium 8. The genesis of the graphic interface 9. The (inter)personal interface Part V. Coda: 10. When hand and memory meet again.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, leading scholars in architecture, design, history, and communications discuss the work of R. Buckminster Fuller in the context of the larger social and cultural patterns of the twentieth century.Trade Review"This book is to be recommended for its scholarship and the manner in which it situates Fuller in terms of past and present and cultural history."Barbara Opar, Art Libraries Society of North America."Buckminster Fuller was one of the 20th Century's greatest philosophers regarding human intention, anticipation and design. His ideas wereboundless in scope and fearless in aspiration and have affected human thinking from the level of the molecule to the galaxies. This collection offers new glimpses into his universe of interests." —William McDonough, Fellow, American Institute of Architects

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Book SynopsisIn this book, leading scholars in architecture, design, history, and communications discuss the work of R. Buckminster Fuller in the context of the larger social and cultural patterns of the twentieth century.Trade Review"This book is to be recommended for its scholarship and the manner in which it situates Fuller in terms of past and present and cultural history."Barbara Opar, Art Libraries Society of North America."Buckminster Fuller was one of the 20th Century's greatest philosophers regarding human intention, anticipation and design. His ideas wereboundless in scope and fearless in aspiration and have affected human thinking from the level of the molecule to the galaxies. This collection offers new glimpses into his universe of interests." —William McDonough, Fellow, American Institute of Architects

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Book SynopsisThis book discusses the history of electrification in British-ruled Palestine in the 1920s to show the crucial role that electrification played in assembling a material infrastructure of ethno-national separation in Palestine, long before "political partition plans" had ever been envisioned.Trade Review"Current Flow seeks to provide a historical sociology-based perspective on the interaction between the technical aspects of constructing an electrical power grid with the political and social implications of such an effort. In a book useful for scholars studying ethno-national relations and modernization, Shamir's narrative highlights the unique role electrification plays in transforming social society." -- Middle East Journal"Ronen Shamir's new book is a timely and thoughtful study of the electrification of Palestine in the early twentieth century. Current Flow: The Electrification of Palestine makes use of Actor-Network Theory as a methodology to trace the processes involved in constructing a powerhouse and assembling an electric grid in 1920s Palestine. The book brilliantly shows how electrification 'makes politics' rather than just transmitting it . . . Whether you're interested the history of Palestine or the historical sociology of science, this is a fascinating, inspiring study well worth reading!" -- Carla Nappi * New Books in Science, Technology, and Society *"A tour de force, exciting, and daring, Current Flow reveals how social distinctions reside in and on an electrical grid: enabling (or disabling) social formations, separating public and private, and ranking groups and classes. As a visible material assembly whose currents connect sketches, maps, and legal contracts to lamps, transformers, and current-meters; entrepreneurs, electricians and engineers to lawyers, officials, and customers, the grid becomes an actor rather than simply an assemblage." -- Susan S. Silbey * Massachusetts Institute of Technology *"In this strikingly original book, Ronen Shamir traces the electrification of 1920s Palestine by way of an expanding grid of wires and poles, technicians and officials, texts and images. How was it that the enterprise designed to connect Arabs and Jews in a single, all-Palestine system, ended up energizing those very ethno-national divides, anticipating more thoroughgoing separations to follow? Shamir's ingenious account of the conundrum suggests a specific sort of understanding: technical processes of this kind, he insists, are themselves intrinsically social, historical. They do not merely transmit politics, they make it." -- Jean Comaroff * Harvard University *

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThis inspirational history of Kennedy SpaceCenter explores man's attempts to conquer the final frontier from Von Braun to the Space Station.

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Book SynopsisWritten in an engaging and accessible style, this first broadly focused compensatory history of technology not only includes women's contributions but begins the long-overdue task of redefining technology and significant technology and to value these contributions correctly. Stanley traces women's inventions in five vital areas of technology worldwide--agriculture, medicine, reproduction, machines, and computers--from prehistory (or origin) forward, profiling hundreds of women, both famous and obscure. The author does not ignore theory. She contributes a paradigm for male takeovers of technologies originated by women.Trade ReviewAn indispensable reference tool. * Choice *A clearly written volume which the non-academic can easily and enjoyably read. * New Moon Parenting *Invaluable. There is nothing else with as much information between two covers on the market. -- Ruth Schwartz Cowan * President, Society for the History of Technology *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Daughters of Ceres, Songi, and Corn Mother: Women Inventors and Innovators in Agriculture and Related Technology 2. Daughters of Isis, Gula, Hygieia, and Brigit: Women Inventors in Health and Medicine 3. Daughters of Hera, Eileithyia, Prokris, and Teteu Innan: Women Inventors and Innovators in Sex, Fertility, and Anti-Fertility Technology 4. Daughters of Athena, Semiramis, Margaret Knight, and Wei-Feng Ying: Women Inventors of Tools and Machines 5. Daughters of the Enchantress of Numbers and Grandma COBOL: Women Inventors and Innovators in Computers and Related Technology Conclusion Appendixes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTraces the issue of radioactive waste in Western countries from the end of World War II to the blossoming of the environmental movement in the early 1970s. This book looks at the myriad mishaps and subsequent cover-ups that were born out of the dilemma of where to house deadly nuclear materials.Trade Review"Hamblin's examination of radioactive waste dumping in Europe and America is an important and valuable study, particularly for those interested in the role of science, technology, and environment in modern life." -- Ronald Rainger * Professor of History, Texas Tech University *"A fascinating account of the role of health physicists and marine scientists in the international politics and public relations of dumping radioactive waste at sea." -- John Krige * author of American Hegemony and the Postwar Reconstruction of Science in Europe *"Poison in the Well tells how British and American nuclear scientists have handled radioactive wastes since World War II, despite uncertainty about long-term genetic and somatic effects, creating a legacy that will last for thousands of years. Interdisciplinary turf battles, government secrecy, and technological hubris all play a role in this well-constructed narrative." -- Robert W. Seidel * professor of History of Science and Technology, University of Minnesota *"This impressively researched and judiciously argued book challenges readers to think in new ways about what happens when science, politics, and the environment intersect." * American Historical Review *"Hamblin's study is timely and absorbing, discussing an aspect of the history of atomic energy programmes on which very little has been known. Poison in the Well is an incredibly precious expose" * British Journal for the History of Science *"An excellent and balanced book. Hamblin's story is compelling and complex. By avoiding simple conclusions, he provides great insight into Cold War international relations, the dilemmas of going nuclear, the difficulty in determining risk, and the continuing problems we face with untested or newly tested technologies." * Journal of American History *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Eisler’s book is more than a succinct history of the fuel cell itself. Just as important, it traces the history of the often utopian ideas behind this technology. This well-written and carefully researched study...helps the reader understand why the fuel cell has yet to fulfill its glittering promise. Overpotential provides a useful review of one technology whose various futures so far have failed to arrive." * Chemical Heritage *"A very fine book. Overpotential unpacks the more complex, and infinitely more interesting, story of the intertwining of technological developments concerning electrical power and the search for new sources of cheap, safe, efficient electricity." * Quest: The History of Spaceflight *"In this extensively researched and detailed book, Eisler provides the 'rest of the story' of fuel cells and fuel cell applications progress in the 20th century. Highly recommended." * Choice *"In Overpotential, Matthew Eisler demonstrates that historians can and should contribute to the energy debate ... A major strength of the book is that it aims to — and largely does — bridge the gap between the fuel cell as history of technology and as present-day engineering and policy challenge." * Technology and Culture * "Joining scholarly analysis with engaging narrative, Eisler exposes the perils of technology policy and reveals how a cult of innovation can trump socially sound energy policy in the United States." -- John M. DeCicco * University of Michigan *"Eisler's historical treatment of the engineering subject matter in Overpotential provides a perspective that is often lacking in the current discourse on fuel cells." -- Frederik Nebeker * author of Dawn of the Electronic Age * "Exaggerated claims made on behalf of new energy conversions are commonly met with uncritical acceptance. Eisler provides a much needed corrective, a well-informed and critical explanation of why fuel cells have not become a miraculous energy source." -- Vaclav Smil * University of Manitoba *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Fuel Cell Futurism1 Device in Search of a Role2 Military Miracle Battery3 Fuel Cells and the Final Frontier4 Dawn of the Commercial Fuel Cell5 Fueling Hydrogen Futurism6 Green Automobile Wars7 Electrochemical MillenniumConclusionNotesIndex

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Useful for readers interested in the evolution of media-oriented satellites and the cultures they serve. Recommended." * Choice *"Grounded in fact and garnished with theory, this volume both excites and builds on a renewed appreciation for satellites…a treasurehouse of materials for people who want to figure out the technical colonization of the air!" -- John Durham Peters * author of Speaking into the Air *"Philosophers have looked upward into the starry heavens and been filled with wonder and awe. Down to Earth reverses the gaze, revealing how satellites impinge on so many aspects of our lives. Read it before Skynet goes online." -- James Der Derian * Brown University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionI Concepts and Cartographies1. The Invention of Air Space, Outer Space, and Cyberspace2. Dethroning the View from Above3. The Geostationary Orbit4. “Freedom to Communicate”5. The NAVSTAR Global Positioning System6. Satellites, Oil, and FootprintsII Satellite Mediascapes7. From Satellite to Screen8. Beyond the Terrestrial?9. Crossing Borders10. WorldSpace Satellite Radio and the South African Footprint11. Content vs. DeliveryIII Orbital Matters12. When Satellites Fall13. AFP-731 or The Other Night Sky14. Microsatellites15. Disjecta Membra, the Kármán Line, and the 38th Parallel Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisNew technologies, whether text message or telegraph, inevitably raise questions about emotion. This book investigates the context of such concerns, considering both how media technologies intersect with our emotional lives and how our ideas about these intersections influence how we think about and experience emotion and technology themselves.Trade ReviewThis is an important book for thinking about the relationship between science and public culture. Instead of simply looking at media representations of science, it demonstrates so well how the public sphere itself is a sociotechnical assemblage of networked devices, concepts, bodies, measurements, and various audiences. Malin steers a clear course between technological determinism and social constructivism. We think, feel, and act in relationship with our tools, but it is precisely this relationship that matters. In the end, he leaves the reader with a rich picture of mass media as an assemblage whose infrastructure includes the often neglected social technologies of the human sciences. * American Historical Review *A wide mixtureof scholarly disciplines across the last century contribute to Malin's history. They are represented by social scientists, psychologists, media and communications theorists, as well as philosophers. For historians of psychology, Feeling Mediated offers extended commentary on the work of three psychologists who are less frequently acknowledged in the literature. * PsycCritques *[] Malin sharpens his weapons against prevalent narratives of oversimplification, which many times also serve to perpetuate discrimination by class, gender, and race. Nailing the big irony of this trope, Malin also argues how the laboratory instruments measure other new technologies in ways that create a complex feedback loop. * Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly *[B]y locating administrative research in a broad cultural setting, and, in particular, by characterizing it in a novel way as & media physicalism, [Malin]helps to explain how an influential tradition in American communications studies took the form that it did. * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *Indeed one of the great many joys in readingFeeling Mediatedis its clear, breezy writing that is unencumbered by jargon. It is a page-turner, a rarity in academic books, especially those that take up emotion as a focus.Scholars in media and communication and technology history, cultural and American Studies are likely to find this book most interesting. * Journal of Communication *Using a wide range of archival research and several historical examples of technology's relationship with emotion, Malin demonstrates how communication technology changed the way people think about emotion and continues to . . . . Malin also offers audiences a way to understand their own emotional process in relation to new technologies, which makes this book a worthwhile read for anyone who communicates with a 'feeling machine.' * International Journal of Communication *In reconstructing the debates surrounding media physicalism, Malin draws on substantial archival and primary-source research, and brings in as well intelligent discussions of the history of psychology and the philosophy of mind. Ultimately, his critique of media physicalism underscores the necessity of apprehending the historical situatedness of media technologies, showing how race, class, and gender norms were built into various media and the systems set up to measure their impact. * Journal of American History *Malin has written an illuminating study, bringing to our attention areas of research and thinking, some now quite neglected, that are concerned with the complex relationship between media technologies and our emotional lives. * European Journal of Communication *An engaging work on emotion-inducing and sensing technologies, the concerns surrounding them, and their uptake within the early- to mid-20th century scientific community. Replete with fascinating gems that reveal our preoccupation with emotionality and its relationship to communication technologies,Feeling Mediatedis a compelling foray not only into the history of media but also that of media studies. -- Ted Striphas,Indiana UniversityAs modern ideas of communication as transmission emerged, so too did the belief in emotions as forces within the body.BrentonMalinsFeeling Mediatedchronicles these intertwined histories.Malins book juxtaposes the idea of media physicalismthat media have direct effects on audiences emotionsalongside the history of & American cool as a desired emotional state, constantly under threat from too-hot media.Feeling Mediatednot only contributes to the growing cross-fertilization of media studies and affect theory, it also provides a new account of why, for the last two centuries, each generation has made the same claims for the emotional power of emerging media. -- Jonathan Sterne,author of MP3: The Meaning of a FormatTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction J 1. Conflicting Feelings: Technology and Emotions from Colonial America to the New Age of Communication 2. Touching Images: Stereoscopy, Technocracy, and Popular Photographic Physicalism 3. Electrifying Voices: Recording, Radio, and the New Friendly but Formal Speech 4. Projecting Emotions: Motion Pictures, Social Science, and Emotional Self-Control 5. Connecting Centuries: The Legacies of Media Physicalism Conclusion K Notes Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisNew technologies, whether text message or telegraph, inevitably raise questions about emotion. This book investigates the context of such concerns, considering both how media technologies intersect with our emotional lives and how our ideas about these intersections influence how we think about and experience emotion and technology themselves.Trade ReviewThis is an important book for thinking about the relationship between science and public culture. Instead of simply looking at media representations of science, it demonstrates so well how the public sphere itself is a sociotechnical assemblage of networked devices, concepts, bodies, measurements, and various audiences. Malin steers a clear course between technological determinism and social constructivism. We think, feel, and act in relationship with our tools, but it is precisely this relationship that matters. In the end, he leaves the reader with a rich picture of mass media as an assemblage whose infrastructure includes the often neglected social technologies of the human sciences. * American Historical Review *A wide mixtureof scholarly disciplines across the last century contribute to Malin's history. They are represented by social scientists, psychologists, media and communications theorists, as well as philosophers. For historians of psychology, Feeling Mediated offers extended commentary on the work of three psychologists who are less frequently acknowledged in the literature. * PsycCritques *[] Malin sharpens his weapons against prevalent narratives of oversimplification, which many times also serve to perpetuate discrimination by class, gender, and race. Nailing the big irony of this trope, Malin also argues how the laboratory instruments measure other new technologies in ways that create a complex feedback loop. * Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly *[B]y locating administrative research in a broad cultural setting, and, in particular, by characterizing it in a novel way as & media physicalism, [Malin]helps to explain how an influential tradition in American communications studies took the form that it did. * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *Indeed one of the great many joys in readingFeeling Mediatedis its clear, breezy writing that is unencumbered by jargon. It is a page-turner, a rarity in academic books, especially those that take up emotion as a focus.Scholars in media and communication and technology history, cultural and American Studies are likely to find this book most interesting. * Journal of Communication *Using a wide range of archival research and several historical examples of technology's relationship with emotion, Malin demonstrates how communication technology changed the way people think about emotion and continues to . . . . Malin also offers audiences a way to understand their own emotional process in relation to new technologies, which makes this book a worthwhile read for anyone who communicates with a 'feeling machine.' * International Journal of Communication *In reconstructing the debates surrounding media physicalism, Malin draws on substantial archival and primary-source research, and brings in as well intelligent discussions of the history of psychology and the philosophy of mind. Ultimately, his critique of media physicalism underscores the necessity of apprehending the historical situatedness of media technologies, showing how race, class, and gender norms were built into various media and the systems set up to measure their impact. * Journal of American History *Malin has written an illuminating study, bringing to our attention areas of research and thinking, some now quite neglected, that are concerned with the complex relationship between media technologies and our emotional lives. * European Journal of Communication *An engaging work on emotion-inducing and sensing technologies, the concerns surrounding them, and their uptake within the early- to mid-20th century scientific community. Replete with fascinating gems that reveal our preoccupation with emotionality and its relationship to communication technologies,Feeling Mediatedis a compelling foray not only into the history of media but also that of media studies. -- Ted Striphas,Indiana UniversityAs modern ideas of communication as transmission emerged, so too did the belief in emotions as forces within the body.BrentonMalinsFeeling Mediatedchronicles these intertwined histories.Malins book juxtaposes the idea of media physicalismthat media have direct effects on audiences emotionsalongside the history of & American cool as a desired emotional state, constantly under threat from too-hot media.Feeling Mediatednot only contributes to the growing cross-fertilization of media studies and affect theory, it also provides a new account of why, for the last two centuries, each generation has made the same claims for the emotional power of emerging media. -- Jonathan Sterne,author of MP3: The Meaning of a FormatTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction J 1. Conflicting Feelings: Technology and Emotions from Colonial America to the New Age of Communication 2. Touching Images: Stereoscopy, Technocracy, and Popular Photographic Physicalism 3. Electrifying Voices: Recording, Radio, and the New Friendly but Formal Speech 4. Projecting Emotions: Motion Pictures, Social Science, and Emotional Self-Control 5. Connecting Centuries: The Legacies of Media Physicalism Conclusion K Notes Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“In Shadows of Enlightenment, Jill Casid sets herself no less a task than the rethinking of modernity and the formation of the European subject. Concerned with the psychic, affective, and material powers of projection and propelled by queer, feminist, and postcolonial revisions of psychoanalysis, Casid ultimately takes her readers from the mythic origins of representation to exemplary instances of contemporary art. And in the course of traversing the history and charting the geography of projection, even as she tarries with darkness, she produces nothing short of illumination.” —Lisa Saltzman, Bryn Mawr CollegeTable of ContentsContentsIntroduction: Shadows of Enlightenment 1. Paranoid Projection and the Phantom Subject of Reason2. Empire through the Magic Lantern3. Empire Bites Back4. Along Enlightenment’s Cast Shadows5. Following the RainbowConclusion. Queer Projection: Theses on the “Future of an Illusion”AcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Carly A. Kocurek provides a fascinating cultural history of arcade gaming and, in doing so, offers keen insight into our ongoing conversations around gender and gaming. This is a must read for those interested not only in game studies but in the evolution of American boyhood."—T.L. Taylor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology"An excellent study of the early history of the video game industry and how it came to define the gamer as male."—Library Journal"The great contribution of Kocurek’s Coin-Operated Americans is its attempt to historicize a relationship that often appears natural to cultural gatekeepers and other onlookers, not to mention reactionary “gamers” themselves."—Public Books"This detailed study provides a lucid, compelling narrative that will interest a very diverse audience."—CHOICE"Coin-Operated Americans is an invaluable contribution for those interested in the intersection among media, technology, and critical questions surrounding children and youth."—Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth"Kocurek invites readers to imagine the sensory environment of the early arcade, its sights and sounds, which serves as a vivid backdrop for the compelling cultural history the book chronicles."—Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth"Productive contributions to studies of masculinity, and to studies of gender and digital play more broadly."—Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality "Coin-Operated Americans will make an excellent addition to undergraduate courses on gender studies, American culture, and the recent past."—Oral History ReviewTable of ContentsContentsAcknowledgments Introduction1. The Microcosmic Arcade: Playing at the Cultural Vanguard 2. Gaming’s Gold Medalists: Twin Galaxies and the Rush to Competitive Gaming3. Adapting Violence: Death Race and the History of Gaming Moral Panic4. Anarchy in the Arcade: Regulating Coin-Op Video Games5. Play Saves the Day: TRON, WarGames, and the Gamer as Protagonist6. The Arcade Is Dead, Long Live the Arcade: Nostalgia in an Era of Ubiquitous Computing7. The Future Is Now: Changes in Gaming CultureNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisCapturing where we are today through a tour of yesterday''s achievements and helping us better understand the evolution of computing technology, this book recounts the experiences of those who formed and functioned in the Pioneering Era. In the Beginning: Recollections of Software Pioneers records the stories of computing''s past enabling today''s professionals to improve on the realities of yesterday. The stories in this book clearly show modern concepts such as data abstraction, modularity, and structured approaches date much earlier in the field than their appearance in academic literature. These stories help capture the true evolution. The book illustrates human experiences and industry turning points through personal recollections of the pioneers themselves.

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Book SynopsisExamining the history of warfare and political development through a technological lens, Macola relates the study of military technology to the history of gender.Trade Review“Giacomo Macola makes a serious contribution to our understanding of nineteenth-century African history, and specifically to the history of warfare and military organization in Africa. Few scholars have positioned firearms at the centre of their work in quite this manner, making this an innovative and distinctive intervention.”“In tracking the history of guns in late precolonial and early colonial history, Macola deftly draws on concepts from science, technology, and society (STS), consumption, and material-culture studies, placing African history in conversation with those fields…In his final chapter, [he] connects his story to recent histories of violence, intercontinental trade, and armament in central Africa, demonstrating anew that precolonial African history is both accessible in, and essential to, understanding contemporary Africa.” * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *“…Provides a fascinating perspective on the evolution of societies, trade, ethnic rivalries, and war in the decades leading up to the European scramble for the continent… Macola’s broader purpose is to place the study of precolonial Africa back on the scholarly agenda and show how it remains relevant today. The conclusion of his fine book suggests a link between the adoption of firearms in central Africa a century and a half ago and the motivations and actions of the young men in today’s eastern Congo who join militias and spread insecurity and violence.” * Foreign Affairs *“The Gun in Central Africa … is a methodological triumph … Macola’s command of language and local histories opens a new window on not just the Scramble for Africa but also the motivations of today’s militias in eastern Congo.” * Joanna Lewis, assistant professor in the department of international history, London School of Economics *”Macola’s book, with its focus on the symbolic and social value of firearms, tells us something new and original about Africa’s history and in particular about the different ways in which African societies actively incorporated the exogenous flow of technology brought by international trade. At the same time, it is undoubtedly a valuable book for scholars who wish to understand better the present dynamics of warfare in central Africa.” * Journal of Southern African Studies *“[Macola] reveals the limits of the theory of technological determinism and ascriptions of agency in a provocative argument about the localization of technology that removes its independent power but enhances its significance in other ways. Students of nineteenth-century history and colonial conquest in Africa will find here many challenges to received opinion as well as new entrées into the history of other eras and even technologies.” * Michigan War Studies Review *“Macola’s important book has the great merit of providing a broad and complex comparative narrative of gun domestication within the central African savannah. In so doing, it paves the way to further explorations on the challenges and rewards that precolonial African meanings present to the historian striving to understand their legacies to contemporary central Africa.” * Journal of African Military History *“Macola’s book shows how most African precolonial societies, even those far from the coastal areas under early European influence, became familiar with gunpowder technology. They developed their own techniques to use, repair and improve firearms and even, in some societies, to produce gunpowder and ammunition. The book’s emphasis on the multifaceted political, social, economic, and cultural dimensions of firearms underlines the necessity to seek interpretations about the circulation of military technology beyond the traditional scope of international rivalry between states.” * Technology and Culture, Vol. 61 (July 2020) *

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Book SynopsisBeautiful 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.Trade 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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