An anthology of short takes on the century's progress in
invention/technology, selected and presented chronologically by a
prize-winning writer who himself has contributed to the history of
technology (e.g., Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, 1995).
The result is a mixed bag, leaving the reader frustrated (why this
and not that) and querulous (where are we headed? what is the
point?). Some selections celebrate moments of discovery; others
discourse on the meaning and implications of an innovation, making
value judgments. But, as he says at the outset, "The deep truth
about the debate that fills this book is that it's a debate among
the orthodox. . . . No one, not even the Unabomber, has proposed a
return to a Hobbesian garden of the primates." So science and
technology (the distinction blurs) emerge as the inevitable fallout
of our enlarged brains. As for the limits, turn of the century
writers like Henry Adams voiced fear of the dynamo, Samuel Gompers
worried that the new industrial efficiencies were "producing wealth
but grinding man" - themes that recur as the century develops. In
due course, Rhodes gives us Oppenheimer confessing that scientists
"have known sin," and Newton Minow lamenting TV's "vast wasteland."
There are also the daring visions and realities of the Pill, the
transistor, the laser, and the artificial intelligence pursuits of
Herbert Simon and Marvin Minsky. In short, the 20th century is a
technological dream - or nightmare, depending on your point of
view. A serious omission is medical advances (because Rhodes says
they are so well attended). Beginning with the discovery of the
structure of DNA in 1953, molecular biology and its applications
have become the technological movers and shakers in the late 20th
century - and of the century to come. In the end, Rhodes has given
us a collection of trees (with some species missing). Pity, because
with a little more effort and more than cursory commentary he could
have created pathways leading to a forest of ideas. (Kirkus
Reviews)
Technology was the blessing and the bane of the twentieth century. Human life span nearly doubled in the West, but in no century were more human beings killed by new technologies of war. Improvements in agriculture now feed increasing billions, but pesticides and chemicals threaten to poison the earth. Does technology improve us or diminish us? Enslave us or make us free? With this first-ever collection of the essential twentieth-century writings on technology, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Richard Rhodes explores the optimism, ambivalence, and wrongheaded judgments with which Americans have faced an ever-shifting world.
Visions of Technology collects writings on events from the Great Exposition of 1900 and the invention of the telegraph to the advent of genetic counseling and the defeat of Garry Kasparov by IBM's chess-playing computer, Deep Blue. Its gems of opinion and history include Henry Ford on the horseless carriage, Robert Caro on the transformation of New York City, J. Robert Oppenheimer on science and war, Loretta Lynn on the Pill and much more. Together, they chronicle an unprecedented century of change.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
