A History of Great Inventions [Hardcover]

James Dyson (Author), Robert Uhlig (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2001

Lucidly written and generously illustrated in color, this volume of scientific history by award-winning inventor James Dyson details the greatest achievements of the human imagination since early hominids invented stone tools about 250,000 years ago. Through thousands of years and vital inventions more--the canoe, the wheel, ink and papyrus, language, maps, currency, law--the primitive hunter-gatherer of the Stone Age would evolve into the literate citizen of ancient Rome at the time of Christ, as the opening chapter of this fascinating chronicle shows. Succeeding chapters follow human technological advances up to the seventeenth century and then in the age of industrial power, the age of electricity, the atomic age, and the postwar world of the microchip and the genome. Not only does Dyson survey the history of human inventions, he also explores the circumstances and impulses that underlie them. While necessity often proves to be the mother of invention, frustration and serendipity, too, can prod genius. Frustration over the countless ships and lives lost at sea led to John Harrison's invention of extraordinarily accurate clocks, whereas the cocklebur seeds that by chance stuck to George de Mestral's jacket resulted in his invention of Velcro. If, however, all invention originates in a knowledge of what already exists, as Dyson submits, his volume beautifully and accessibly illuminates the many diverse and interconnected worlds in which invention has evolved and thrived.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Fertile is the field of books about inventions. The very fecundity of works about human ingenuity begs for a less-detailed volume that is more comprehensive in scope, a role Dyson's satisfyingly fills. In an arrangement partly encyclopedic and partly chronological, Dyson and his two dozen contributors divide all inventions into six periods; the breaks between periods are determined by when a technological era attained its acme, such as refinement of the steam engine by the 1830s. A continuity across the periods is the authors' recognition that some needs are timeless, such as the imperative to contain and transport fire; Dyson's piece about the friction match, invented in 1826, pays homage to a technical lineage that stretches back to our hominid ancestors more than a million years ago. Crammed with numerous illustrations, Dyson's exuberant work is perfect public-library material--sure to snare browsing technophiles. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

'Today James Dyson ranks alongside the likes of Laszlo Biro and John Logie Baird' - Sunday Post; 'Intriguing little gems are contained in this lavishly illustrated book', - Manchester Evening News; 'Fascinating reference book you'll want to read' - Sunday People --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 188 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers; First edition. edition (October 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786709030
• ISBN-13: 978-0786709038
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,481,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Too many errors, January 8, 2005

By 

E "T" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: James Dyson's History of Great Inventions (Paperback)

I love to read non-fiction such as this and to learn things about the history of technology. Unfortunately, James Dyson's A History of Great Inventions is fraught with errors. What good is a book of supposed history if it all becomes suspect? If the simple facts are wrong, how do I know if the less simple ones are correct?

An example: On page 155, Mr Dyson states that the Panama Canal opened in 1937. This is 23 years after the fact. Some things are arguable, such as the first machine that could be christened a computer, but some things simply aren't. Dyson's book gets too many things wrong to make it anything but a very frustrating read. I recommend avoiding this book entirely.

2 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nice book, November 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A History of Great Inventions (Hardcover)

This book makes a nice coffee table book. Full of interesting trivia and nice photos.