Series:

Fifty Things That Changed the Course of History

3 total works

Cover of Fifty Animals That Changed the Course of History
Charting the unique relationship between humans and animals and how certain species have been instrumental in the development of our understanding of the evolution of the natural world, this title explores the role animals have played in our culture and history. Often taken for granted, the produce and work of animals have not only met man's basic need for food and clothing, the study of animals has allowed us to develop scientifically and culturally. "Fifty Animals that Changed the Course of History" is a fascinating exploration of the important role animals have played in our changing world, from the honeybee to the scarab beetle.

Cover of Fifty Minerals That Changed the Course of History

Fifty Minerals that Changed the Course of History is a beuatifully presented guide to the minerals that have shaped and defined our lives.

Weaving together strands of econimic, cultural, political and industrial history, each entry gives a fascinating perspective on the scope and pace of human development and the dangers posed by our exploitation of Earth's resources.

From flint and obsidian to bronze and iron, the book explores the history of industry from the earliest recorded history, and marvels at the extraordinary works of art produced in gold, silver, ivory and jade by the great classical civilisations of the Old and New Worlds.

Moving into modern times, the book charts the industrialisation of societites though the use of fossil fuels, the production of steel and aluminium and the harnessing of nuclear energy from uranium and plutonium.

Cover of Fifty Machines That Changed the Course of History
It could be argued that the most significant advances in the past two centuries have been made in the fields of science and technology, and that the defining objects of our culture are its mechanical devices. Rather than at looking at technology as a succession of generic inventions, 50 Machines that Changed the course of History identifies the most significant branded or one-off machines of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, placing them in their historical and technological contexts, and evaluating their impact on the development of human civilization. The preeminent machines of the First Industrial Revolution, the "Age of Steam," include the first locomotive designed for passenger transport, Stephenson's Rocket (1829), and the Corliss steam engine (1849) that powered Britain's "Satanic mills," in which the Harrison power loom (1851) produced the bulk of the world's cotton cloth.
The turn of the twentieth century, and the Second Industrial Revolution, saw the invention of many of the technologies that have created modern lifestyles: the Westinghouse AC system (1887) brought electrical power and lighting to homes and workplaces; the Berliner gramophone (1892), Lumiere cine projector (1896), and Marconi radio (1897) heralded the dawn of the media age; and the age of the mass-produced automobile began with the Model T Ford (1908). Perfect for history buffs and anyone who is fascinated by complex and beautiful mechanical devices, Fifty Machines that Changed the Course of History is a celebration of 50 iconic machines, and of mechanical technology in general.