By 1838, over two thousand Americans had been killed and many hundreds injured by exploding steam engines on steamboats. After calls for a solution in two State of the Union addresses, a Senate Select Committee met to consider an investigative report from the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, the first federally funded investigation into a technical.

This fascinating cultural history of the personal computer explains how user-friendly design allows tech companies to build systems that we cannot understand. Modern personal computers are easy to use, and their welcoming, user-friendly interfaces encourage us to see them as designed for our individual benefit. Rarely, however, do these interfaces invite us to consider how our individual uses support the broader political and economic strategies of their designers. In Transparent Designs, Michael L. Black revisits early debates from hobbyist newsletters, computing magazines, user manuals, and advertisements about how personal computers could be seen as usable and useful by the average person. Black examines how early personal computers from the Tandy TRS-80 and Commodore PET to the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh were marketed to an American public that was high on the bold promises of the computing revolution but also skeptical about their ability to participate in it. Through this careful archival study, he shows how many of the foundational principles of usability theory were shaped through disagreements over the languages and business strategies developed in response to this skepticism. In short, this book asks us to consider the consequences of a computational culture that is based on the assumption that the average person does not need to know anything about the internal operations of the computers we've come to depend on for everything. Expanding our definition of usability, Transparent Designs examines how popular and technical rhetoric shapes user expectations about what counts as usable and useful as much as or even more so than hardware and software interfaces. Offering a fresh look at the first decade of personal computing, Black highlights how the concept of usability has been leveraged historically to smooth over conflicts between the rhetoric of computing and its material experience. Readers interested in vintage computing, the history of technology, digital rhetoric, or American culture will be fascinated in this book.

At the end of the Second World War, Germany lay at the mercy of its occupiers, all of whom launched programmes of scientific and technological exploitation. Each occupying nation sought to bolster their own armouries and industries with the spoils of war, and Britain was no exception. Shrouded in secrecy yet directed at the top levels of government and driven by ingenuity from across the civil service and armed forces, Britain made exploitation a key priority. By examining factories and laboratories, confiscating prototypes and blueprints, and interrogating and even recruiting German experts, Britain sought to utilise the innovations of the last war to prepare for the next. This ground-breaking book tells the full story of British exploitation for the first time, sheds new light on the legacies of the Second World War, and contributes to histories of intelligence, science, warfare and power in the midst of the twentieth century.

One day in the spring of 2013, a box appeared outside a fourth-floor apartment door in Brooklyn, New York. The recipient, who didn't know the sender, only knew she was supposed to bring this box to a friend, who would ferry it to another friend. This was Edward Snowden's box-printouts of documents proving that the US government had built a massive surveillance apparatus and used it to spy on its own people-and the friend on the end of this chain was filmmaker Laura Poitras. Thus the biggest national security leak of the digital era was launched via a remarkably analog network, the US Postal Service. This is just one of the odd, ironic details that emerges from the story of how Jessica Bruder and Dale Maharidge, two experienced journalists but security novices (and the friends who received and ferried the box) got drawn into the Snowden story as behind-the-scenes players. Their initially stumbling, increasingly paranoid, and sometimes comic efforts to help bring Snowden's leaks to light, and ultimately, to understand their significance, unfold in an engrossing narrative that includes emails and diary entries from Poitras. This is an illuminating essay on the status of transparency, privacy, and trust in the age of surveillance.

ONE OF AMAZON'S TOP 100 BOOKS OF 2014 Neanderthal Man tells the story of geneticist Svante Paabo's mission to answer this question: what can we learn from the genomes of our closest evolutionary relatives? Beginning with the study of DNA in Egyptian mummies in the early 1980s and culminating in the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome in 2010, Neanderthal Man describes the events, intrigues, failures, and triumphs of these scientifically rich years through the lens of the pioneer and inventor of the field of ancient DNA. We learn that Neanderthal genes offer a unique window into the lives of our hominid relatives and may hold the key to unlocking the mystery of why humans survived while Neanderthals went extinct. Paabo's findings have not only redrawn our family tree, but recast the fundamentals of human history,the biological beginnings of fully modern Homo sapiens , the direct ancestors of all people alive today.

Providing a global perspective on the development of American technology, Technology and American Society offers a historical narrative detailing major technological transformations over the last three centuries. With coverage devoted to both dramatic breakthroughs and incremental innovations, authors Gary Cross and Rick Szostak analyze the cause-and-effect relationship of technological change and its role in the constant drive for improvement and modernization. This fully-updated 3rd edition extends coverage of industry, home, office, agriculture, transport, constructions, and services into the twenty-first century, concluding with a new chapter on recent electronic and technological advances. Technology and American Society remains the ideal introduction to the myriad interactions of technological advancement with social, economic, cultural, and military change throughout the course of American history.

First published in 1978. This biography aims solve the problem of the lack of access to information regarding American engineers and technologists of the nineteenth-century, whilst also providing opportunities for scholars to study and assess the work of hitherto little known, potentially important figures. This title will be of interest to scholars and students of science and history.

First published in 1925. This study examines the advances in engineering and science in the nineteenth century. The author examines topics on locomotion and sea travel, photography, chemistry, electricity amongst many other industrial and scientific developments. This title will be of interest to historians as well as scientists and engineers.

This important volume examines European perspectives on the historical relations that women have maintained with information and communication technologies (ICTs), since the telegraph. Features: describes how gendered networks have formed around ICT since the late 19th Century; reviews the gendered issues revealed by the conflict between the actress Ms Sylviac and the French telephone administration in 1904, or by 'feminine' blogs; examines how gender representations, age categories, and uses of ICT interact and are mutually formed in children's magazines; illuminates the participation of women in the early days of computing, through a case study on the Rothamsted Statistics Department; presents a comparative study of women in computing in France, Finland and the UK, revealing similar gender divisions within the ICT professions of these countries; discusses diversity interventions and the part that history could (and should) play to ensure women do not take second place in specific occupational sectors.

Biologist James Watson and physicist Francis Crick's 1953 revelation about the double helix structure of DNA is the foundation of virtually every advance in our modern understanding of genetics and molecular biology. But how did Watson and Crick do it-and why were they the ones who succeeded? In truth, the discovery of DNA's structure is the story of a race among five scientists for advancement, fame and immortality: Watson, Crick, Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins and Linus Pauling. They were fascinating and brilliant, with strong personalities that often clashed. But it is Rosalind Franklin who becomes a focal point for Howard Markel. The Secret of Life is a story of genius and perseverance but also a saga of cronyism, misogyny, anti-Semitism and misconduct. Markel brilliantly recounts the intense intellectual journey-and the fraught personal relationships-that resulted in the discovery of DNA.

America loves innovation and the can-do spirit that made this country what it is-a world leader in self-government, industry, technology, and pop culture. Everything about America has been an experiment and a leap of faith. And one such experiment-upon which all others depend for success-is the U.S. Patent System. Why Has America Stopped Inventing? takes a close look at why this experiment appears to be failing, and why America has all but stopped inventing. Our belief that we are the most innovative people on earth is mistaken. Statistics show that today we invent less than half of what our counterparts did a century and a half ago. Look around: Where are the groundbreaking inventions comparable to those from the Industrial Revolution? It's unforgivable that we've been using the same mode of transportation for over a century. Why are we giving trillions of dollars every year to hostile foreign nations for imported oil when we have the inventive talent in America to solve the nation's energy crisis? We don't have these desperately needed technologies because regular Americans have given up on inventing. Why Has America Stopped Inventing? compares some of America's most successful 19th century inventors with those of today, showing Jefferson refusing to waste any more weekends examining patent applications, Whitney being robbed of his fortune while the South's wealth exploded, the patent models that kept British soldiers from burning Washington's last-standing federal building, the formation of Lincoln's cabinet, and Selden crippling the entire U.S. Auto Industry. It also tells the largely unforgotten stories of the Wright brother's airplane monopoly, the Colt revolver's role in the Mexican American War, the Sewing Machine wars, the last six months of Daniel Webster's life, and the controversy surrounding the first telephone patents.

The writing of this book, the first in-depth and fully detailed research about the early years of the Chel Ha'avir - from the light-plane days to the supersonic fighters received roughly ten years later - is the culmination of a long research period by the author. Research that was made harder by the tight - but understandable and respected - security measures involving Israel's Forces. An exceptional source of information has been the help provided by many Chel Ha'Avir veterans who fought in the early days during 1948/1949, and those who helped establish a viable air force in 1949-1956 in spite of tight budgets, obsolescent equipment and lack of experience, and also those who fought in Sinai in late 1956, establishing the seeds for its future role as the airborne shield of Israel. As the reader will discover, the beginnings were extremely hard, and the Chel Ha'Avir had to face unfriendly attitudes from both the United States and the United Kingdom, which took place while many people - civilian and military - were dying in the newborn Hebrew state. But in observing that official policies do not always reflect the citizenship's feelings, most of the colorful band of foreign volunteers that helped the Chel Ha'avir - and the other defense forces - to resist, fight back and win, came from those countries. These foreign volunteers, mostly with combat experience in World War II, provided a core in which many highly talented young Israelis learned fast. One thing was certain, then and now; Israel exists because of the resolute people that live in this small country, both civilian and military, but above all because of the Chel Ha'avir which in the following years would be proclaimed the most combat experienced air force in the world.

Although the Information Age is often described as a new era, its conceptual roots stretch back to the profound changes that occurred during the Age of Reason and Revolution. When Information Came of Age argues that the key to the present era lies in understanding the systems developed in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to gather, store, transform, display, and communicate information.

This little known Heinkel fighter design was eventually canceled yet saw service in the Spanish Civil War.

This new book is a detailed survey and a anew perspective on the development of Luftwaffe aircraft from 1935-1945. Special emphasis has been placed on details of weaponry, equipment and other areas that have up to now been inadequately covered. Many readers will therefore be rewarded with new insights into the area of German aircraft development, as well as the logistics of the Luftwaffe flying units.\nThe book is organized into the basic elements of the German Lutfwaffe - presenting training, pilot operations and ground crews, the individual development steps during aircraft construction, testing, pre-production models, production and finally combat usage. Numerous examples of weapons and supplemental armament, as well as diverse weapons systems and ordinance can be found throughout.\nManfred Griehl and Joachim Dressel are also the authors of Luftwaffe Airfield Equipment (available from Schiffer Publishing).

Published in 1982 this is an introductory study of the international spread of modern industrial technology. The book considers the preconditions necessary for a country to adopt effectively modern industrial technology in the nineteenth century and the mechanisms by which this technology spread from one country to another. A global view is adopted and thus the book supplements others which are concerned with the industrial developmet of individual countries during the same period. It will be invaluable to anyone seeking an understanding of the early history of capitalism.

Years before Charles Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris electrified the nation, a group of daredevil pilots, most of them veterans of the World War I, brought aviation to the masses by competing in the sensational transcontinental air race of 1919. The contest awakened Americans to the practical possibilities of flight, yet despite its significance, it has until now been all but forgotten. In The Great Air Race, journalist and amateur pilot John Lancaster finally reclaims this landmark event and the unheralded aviators who competed to be the fastest man in America. His thrilling chronicle opens with the race's impresario, Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, who believed the nation's future was in the skies. Mitchell's contest-critics called it a stunt-was a risky undertaking, given that the DH-4s and Fokkers the contestants flew were almost comically ill-suited for long-distance travel: engines caught fire in flight; crude flight instruments were of little help in clouds and fog; and the brakeless planes were prone to nosing over on landing. Yet the aviators possessed an almost inhuman disregard for their own safety, braving blizzards and mechanical failure as they landed in remote cornfields or at the edges of cliffs. Among the most talented were Belvin "The Flying Parson" Maynard, whose dog, Trixie, shared the rear cockpit with his mechanic, and John Donaldson, a war hero who twice escaped German imprisonment. Jockeying reporters made much of their rivalries, and the crowds along the race's route exploded, with everyday Americans eager to catch their first glimpse of airplanes and the mythic "birdmen" who flew them. The race was a test of endurance that many pilots didn't finish: some dropped out from sheer exhaustion, while others, betrayed by their engines or their instincts, perished. For all its tragedy, Lancaster argues, the race galvanized the nation to embrace the technology of flight. A thrilling tale of men and their machines, The Great Air Race offers a new origin point for commercial aviation in the United States, even as it greatly expands our pantheon of aviation heroes.

Menke's "Telegraphic Realism" is the first comprehensive reading of Victorian fiction as part of an emerging world of new media technologies and information exchange. The book analyzes the connections between fictional writing, communication technologies, and developing ideas about information, from the postage stamp and electric telegraph to wireless. By placing fiction in dialogue with media history, it argues that Victorian realism was print culture's sophisticated response to the possibilities and dilemmas of a world of media innovations and information flows.

Two decades after the American Civil War, no name was more closely associated with the nation's inventive and entrepreneurial spirit than that of Thomas Edison. The restless changes of those years were reflected in the life of America's foremost inventor. Having cemented his reputation with his electric lighting system, Edison had decided to withdraw partially from that field. At the start of 1885, newly widowed at mid-life with three young children, he launched into a series of personal and professional migrations, setting in motion chains of events that would influence his work and fundamentally reshape his life. Edison's inventive activities took off in new directions, flowing between practical projects (such as wireless and high-capacity telegraph systems) and futuristic ones (exploring forms of electromagnetic energy and the convertibility of one to another). Inside of two years, he would travel widely, marry the daughter of a prominent industrialist and religious educator, leave New York City for a grand home in a sylvan suburb, and construct a winter laboratory and second home in Florida. Edison's family and interior life are remarkably visible at this moment; his papers include the only known diary in which he recorded personal thoughts and events. By 1887, the familiar rhythms of his life began to reassert themselves in his new settings; the family faded from view as he planned, built, and occupied a New Jersey laboratory complex befitting his status. The eighth volume of the series, New Beginnings includes 358 documents (chosen from among thousands) that are the most revealing and representative of Edison's work, life, and place in American culture in these years. Illustrated with hundreds of Edison's drawings, these documents are further illuminated by meticulous research on a wide range of sources, including the most recently digitized newspapers and journals of the day.

Over his four-decade career, Sid Meier has produced some of the world's most popular video games, including Sid Meier's Civilization, which has sold more than 51 million units worldwide and accumulated more than one billion hours of play. Sid Meier's Memoir! is the story of an obsessive young computer enthusiast who helped launch a multi-million-pound industry. Writing with warmth and ironic humour, Meier describes the genesis of his influential studio, MicroProse, founded in 1982 after a trip to a Las Vegas arcade, and recounts the development of landmark games, from vintage classics like Pirates! and Railroad Tycoon, to Civilization and beyond. Articulating his philosophy that a videogame should be "a series of interesting decisions", Meier also shares his perspective on the history of the industry, the psychology of gamers and fascinating insights into the creative process, including his ten rules of good game design.

An important outcome of the Fourth World Internet Conference, this book provides a comprehensive account of the status quo and trends in global Internet development. Covering network infrastructure, information technology, digital economy, e-governance, cyber security, and international cyberspace governance, it presents the Global Internet Development Index System to assess the Internet development of various major countries and emerging economies.

The Triumphs, Struggles, and Secrets of a Captain's Life Richard Metz was a Great Lakes captain for 20 years. He experienced wild weather, close calls, near misses, and events that can only be described as "unimaginable." He has incredible sea stories to tell, and now they are yours to enjoy. Take an entertaining look at life aboard a variety of Great Lakes ships. Read 26 compelling tales of a Great Lakes crewmate and captain, including stories about the Gales of November, the night of the Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking, and more. Plus, you'll be fascinated by the details and full-color photographs of the ships themselves. If you're a history buff, a Great Lakes enthusiast, a ship watcher, or a fan of a good yarn, Sea Stories is for you!