The History of Science and Technology: A Browser's Guide to the Great Discoveries, Inventions, and the People Who MadeThem from the Dawn of Time to Today (Hardcover)

~ Alexander Hellemans (Editor), Bryan Bunch (Editor)
Key Phrases: fifth postulate, André-Marie Ampère, analytical engine, United States, New York, Nobel Prize (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Based on the authors' The Timetables of Science(1988; o.p.) and The Timetables of Technology(1993, both S & S),this hefty volume is divided into 10 periods, each beginning with an overview of major advances, many of which caused controversy in political, social, and religious arenas. The introductions are followed by yearly chronicles of specific accomplishments ranging from the time when hominoids used pebble tools through 2003. In all there are more than 7000 brief entries under such broad headings as "Tools," "Construction," "Astronomy," "Food & Agriculture," "Physics," and "Mathematics." Nearly 200 feature essays are interspersed, including "The Manhattan Project," "How did the Egyptians build the pyramids?," "Early surgery," "Time shifting," "The canal age," and "The size of the universe." These are best accessed from the table of contents, as the index doesn't differentiate essays from text references. Biographies appear as boxed insets with information on career highlights and a small portrait. While informative, the black-and-white photographs and illustrations found throughout are of mediocre quality. An affordable one-volume reference.–Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

In this age of genetic engineering and global warming, it is more important than ever to understand the history and current trends of science and technology. With so much information out there, though, it"s hard to know where to start. That"s where The History of Science and Technology — the most comprehensive and up-to-date chronology of its kind — comes in.
From the first stone tools to the first robot surgery, this easy-to-read, handy reference book offers more than seven thousand concise entries organized within ten major historical periods and categorized by subject, such as archaeology, biology, computers, food and agriculture, medicine and health, materials, and transportation. You can follow the world"s scientific and technological feats forward or backward, year by year, and subject by subject. Under 8400 BCE Construction, you will discover that the oldest known wall was built in Jericho. Jump to 1454 Communication and you will learn about Johann Gutenberg"s invention of movable type. Take an even larger leap to 2002 Computers and find out about the invention of the Earth Simulator, a Japanese supercomputer.

The History of Science and Technology answers all the what, when, why, and how questions about our world"s greatest discoveries and inventions: How are bridges built? When were bifocal eyeglasses invented and by whom? What medical discovery led to the introduction of sterilization, vaccines, and antibiotics? What is the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) process, and why is it one of the pillars of the biotechnology revolution? Not only can you discover how our world came to be and how it works, but with cross-referenced entries you can also trace many intricate and exciting connections across time.

Highly browsable yet richly detailed, expertly researched and indexed, The History of Science and Technology is the perfect desktop reference for both the science novice and the technologically advanced reader alike.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 784 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; illustrated edition edition (April 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618221239
• ISBN-13: 978-0618221233
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #272,908 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, July 26, 2004

By	Richard Sears (Puyallup, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The editorial review pretty much says it all. 720 pages of data (with another 55 pages of index to make things even easier to find) makes for a very fat and heavy book. On the other hand, it takes quite a bit of space to pack in all the significant achievements in science and technology during the past 2,600,000 years.
Ten blocks of time are each introduced with an overview that summarizes the achievements during that period and places them in perspective. Following these essays, the chapters are filled with brief comments along a timeline about developments in twenty areas ranging from anthropology and astronomy to tools and transportation. It's claimed that there are more than 7,000 of these vignettes, so it's obvious that the coverage on any one is less than exhaustive. However, there are four columns to a page, so there's ample room for more than a quick mention. Beginning with the Medieval Era, the timeline condenses into an almost year by year examination. By the 18th century, each year is given substantial space.
Along with all this, there are more than 200 thumbnail biographies of noted scientists and inventors and almost 200 half or full page essays on topics of particular interest or significance such as early surgery, the history of pepper, group theory, and the development of radio.
Best of all, everything is explained with a simplicity that will please any interested lay person and an up-to-the-minute authority that will satisfy the experts. It will not give the reader any in-depth understanding of science or technology, and the bibliography is disappointingly limited. However, for pleasure browsing and interest piquing, this is a terrific value.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Chronology Over Context, March 11, 2007

By	Steve Ruskin (Colorado, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are a number of encyclopedias and reference works covering the history of science and technology. The nature of most of these is to cover a topic ("Galileo," "Medieval Astronomy," etc.) in the format of an article. This particular work, however, takes a different approach: it reviews the history of science and technology chronologically, from prehistory to 2003. The author states clearly in the introduction, "the main body of the book is a chronicle of virtually everything that has happened in science and technology, including false steps and ignored precursors." Ambitious indeed.

This book divides the history of science and technology into ten sections: 1. Prehistory; 2. Antiquity; 3. Medieval Science and Technology; 4. The Renaissance and Scientific Revolution; 5. The Scientific Method; 6. The Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution; 7. The Nineteenth Century; 8. Modern Science and Technology; 9. Big Science and Post Industrial Society; and finally 10. The Information Age

While these are not conventional periods they work OK for the purposes of the book. However, the end result is to provide a century-by-century, decade-by-decade, year-by-year sampling of the different ideas and inventions as they happened. Because these developments are simply placed in order of the year they were produced, and not connected in any significant way to events that preceded them and made them possible, there is very little context to any of these discoveries and inventions. This is essentially a reference work at the high-school level.

With a book formatted in this way a good index is crucial. Fortunately, this book has a massive one. So, while you can't look up, say, "medieval astronomy," you can look up "astrolabe" and "Ptolemy" (assuming you already know that is what you should be looking for). Thus while this book offers very little in the way of context, it lives up to its subtitle as a "browser's guide." For those interested in a year-by-year approach to historical developments in science and technology, this is the book for you.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Price, April 4, 2009

By	Melvin E. Brooks - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book originally retailed for $40. I ordered it for less than $10 (plus shipping!) I'm very pleased with this order as it's a great reference book that I'm sure I will use over and over again.