A Short History of Technology: From the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900: From the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900

Until the publication of this book | historians had largely neglected the effects of technology on the course of human history. Political | economic | and social factors had long been taken into account | but technological advances were not studied in the context of the history of the ages in which they occurred. It remained for the authors of this readable | profusely illustrated survey to relate technological developments to the history of each epoch. Chronologically | the text is divided into two parts | the first telling the story up to ca. A.D. 1750 &; the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Britain &; and the second continuing it up to 1900. The book begins with a general historical survey of ancient civilizations | then goes on to consider such topics as food production | metalworking | building construction | early sources of power | and the beginning of the chemical industry. The second and lengthier portion of the text focuses on the development of the steam engine | machine tools | modern transport | mining coal and metals | the rise of the modern chemical industry | textiles | the internal combustion engine | electricity | and more. To help relate the technology to the age | each section is preceded by a historical introduction and the book concludes with a series of tables designed to show the interrelation of events names in the text. Profusely illustrated and brimming with factual data | A Short History of Technology will appeal equally to students | scholars | historians of technology | and general readers.