Inventing the 20th Century: 100 Inventions That Shaped the World [Hardcover]

Stephen Dulken (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0814788084 | ISBN-13: 978-0814788080 | Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Imagine your average day without zippers, airplanes or vacuum cleaners, without your clock radio or your personal stereo, without photocopiers. All of these devices were invented within the last hundred years and have since transformed our daily landscape.

Drawing on The British Library's vast and comprehensive collection of patents, this handsomely illustrated book recounts the history of 100 of the most significant inventions of the century, decade by decade.

From the photocopier to the Slinky, from genetic fingerprinting to the Lava Lamp, from the ballpoint pen to the fuel cell, Inventing the Twentieth Century is an informative, illuminating window onto the technology of the twentieth century. It's the perfect gift book for every inventor and tinkerer in your life!

"A wonderful book"
—L.A. Daily Breeze, Oct. 19, 2001

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Nobody can complain that the 1900s were boring. Author Stephen Van Dulken observes the transition away from industrial society and past the information age through the world's patent offices in Inventing the Twentieth Century. This collection of 100 brief glimpses into important or oddball inventions is organized by decade, so the reader can see that while some things have changed dramatically--from the electric washing machine to Dolly the cloned sheep in just 86 years--others remain static, like our still-fervent quest for the perfect teabag.

Each entry consists of a page of text describing the patent and a facing page of diagrams from the application, some of which are perplexing or amusing. From the frivolous (snowboard) to the deadly serious (genetic fingerprinting) and even lifesaving (Viagra--?), Van Dulken collects inventions with the widest interest to a general audience. Each decade's section is introduced with a brief contextual exposition that lays the groundwork for understanding the circumstances that permitted each inventor's inspiration to strike. Inventing the Twentieth Century is great fun to read, but it also challenges its readers and inspires thinking about technology and our collective future. Let's hear it for pleasant surprises! --Rob Lightner

Review

“A wonderful book”

-L.A. Daily Breeze,Oct. 19, 2001

"Highly entertaining . . . In addition to being able to tell a good story, van Dulken . . . easily assembles complex ideas from chemistry and engineering and makes them palatable for the lay person. Van Dulken has assembled a panoramic snapshot of the century. By giving us a picture of our past, van Dulken also presents our future."

-Boston Globe,

"A fascinating compendium for trivia seekers."

-Publishers Weekly,

"Remarkable . . . get the book for yourself. It'll hold you for many hours."

-Wall Street Journal,

"One more treasure trove for trivia addicts."

-Herald-Republic,

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814788084
• ISBN-13: 978-0814788080
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,831,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, January 4, 2007

By 

J. Shedal (Franconia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inventing the 20th Century: 100 Inventions That Shaped the World (Paperback)

I got this as a gift for a friend who is an Engineer and holds many patents of his own. He loves this kind of stuff and thought this was a fantastically fun, interesting and informative book!

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Intellectual Capital" with Global Impact, March 17, 2001

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inventing the 20th Century: 100 Inventions That Shaped the World (Hardcover)

This is one of those rare books which is as entertaining as it is informative. Van Dulken selects and discusses "100 inventions that shaped the world", organizing his material within ten chapters to correspond with the ten decades of the 20th century:

1900-1910 (e.g. aeroplane, air conditioning, and the vacuum cleaner)

1910-1919 (e.g. Formica®, neon lighting, and the self-service supermarket

1920-1929 (e.g. the bread slicing machine, power steering, and television

1930-1939 (e.g. the jet engine, the photocopier, and radar

1940-1949 (e.g. the ballpoint pen, the computer, and the transistor

1950-1959 (e.g. the geodesic dome, the microchip, and Velcro® fasteners)

1960-1969 (e.g. implantable pacemaker, the mouse, and the Workmate® workbench) 1970-1979 (e.g. the artificial heart, Post-it® notes, and the smart card)

1980-1989 (e.g. cellular phones, genetic fingerprinting, and the video game)

1990-1999 (e.g. cloning animals, fuel cells, and programmable materials)

Van Dulken discusses ten different inventions in each of the ten chapters, providing detailed descriptions as well as explanations of the historical context in which each was devised and by whom. In the Introduction by Andrew Phillips, the reader is told that the inventions highlighted in this book "have benefitted people of virtually every nation. Some have helped combat the despair of disease, poverty, excessive (even unendurable) labour. Other inventions -- though less illustrated by this book --have contributed to the ravages of war. What comes forth so often, however, from the examples described here is the individuality and initiative which characterizes so many inventors who helped change the world between 1900 and 1999." Quite true. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Mokyr's The Lever of Riches and Novak's The Fire of Invention.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good fun, September 24, 2009

By 

Walter - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inventing the 20th Century: 100 Inventions That Shaped the World (Paperback)

I've enjoyed this book over the years, both personally and professionally. It's a great book for students who come to the library to do historic patent and invention projects.