The story of how diesel engines and gas turbines, used to power cargo ships and jet airplanes, made today's globally integrated economy possible. The many books on globalization published over the past few years range from claims that the world is flat to an unlikely rehabilitation of Genghis Khan as a pioneer of global commerce. Missing from these accounts is a consideration of the technologies behind the creation of the globalized economy. What makes it possible for us to move billions of tons of raw materials and manufactured goods from continent to continent? Why are we able to fly almost anywhere on the planet within twenty-four hours? In Prime Movers of Globalization, Vaclav Smil offers a history of two key technical developments that have driven globalization: the high-compression non-sparking internal combustion engines invented by Rudolf Diesel in the 1890s and the gas turbines designed by Frank Whittle and Hans-Joachim Pabst von Ohain in the 1930s. The massive diesel engines that power cargo ships and the gas turbines that propel jet engines, Smil argues, are more important to the global economy than any corporate structure or international trade agreement. Smil compares the efficiency and scale of these two technologies to prime movers of the past, including the sail and the steam engine. The lengthy processes of development, commercialization, and diffusion that the diesel engine and the gas turbine went through, he argues, provide perfect examples of gradual technical advances that receive little attention but have resulted in epochal shifts in global affairs and the global economy.

From the ancient conquest of fire and the first turn of a wheel to the latest in scientific leaps toward the stars, this easy-access history offers a panoramic perspective on humankind's restless quest for the laws, theories, and tools by which we can grasp and master our universe.
This concise, concentrated, consistently organized look at our species' key scientific and innovative achievements spans all human history, presenting ten distinct eras from the first glimmers of intelligence to the cutting-edge technologies of the modern world. Within these intuitive divisions, all human scientific endeavors and achievement are divided into four general fields of inquiry and arrayed into four basic geocultural regions for easy comparison in a logical, systematic grid format highlighted by 350 photographs, maps, illustrations, and diagrams that add graphic emphasis to key information. Special two-page feature spreads explore the most revolutionary developments in greater depth; compelling, expertly composed essays and memorable quotations add sparkle; and informative sidebars provide specifically focused items of information about particular inventions, ideas, or themes. Completing this comprehensive approach, an extensive glossary explains unfamiliar terms, and a detailed index makes it a simple matter to follow a particular field or process from its origin through its complete cross-cultural evolution. This is a reference as usefully accessible as it is inherently fascinating.

This book contains fascinating vignettes depicting future societies and the implications which increasing technological change has on society and the environment. The topics discussed include nanotechnology, medicine, computational science, biotechnology, synthetic biology, and cognitive technology, among others in science. In addition, social norms, attitudes, and policy are also featured. The upshot of this combination is an entertaining, educational, and thought-provoking volume. The glimpses into future societies subsequent to the introduction and incorporation of various emerging technologies depict scenarios of how we view ourselves, how we view others, how we are viewed by others, how our surroundings are viewed, how our leaders and political structures are viewed, what our social and behavioral norms are, what our temperament/mood is, and so forth. The introduction features a focused discourse on current trends of the impacts of emerging technologies and the conclusion highlights where society should go from here.