Showing titles in History

De 20ste eeuw is de eeuw van de massamotorisering. In 1913 begon de eerste massale serieproductie van auto’s in Amerika. Door een efficiënt productieproces lukte het de industrieel Henry Ford om de T-Ford relatief goedkoop op de markt te brengen en daarmee toegankelijk te maken voor de groeiende middenklasse. In Europa kwam de automobilisering van de samenleving pas op gang na 1960. Elk Europees industrieland leverde een eigen bijdrage.

Few of us give much thought to computer code or how it comes to be. The very word “code” makes it sound immutable or even inevitable. “You Are Not Expected to Understand This” demonstrates that, far from being preordained, computer code is the result of very human decisions, ones we all live with when we use social media, take photos, drive our cars, and engage in a host of other activities.

Interrogating the historical currents that have brought us here, Harkness envisages a messier, riskier and less comfortable world than the one into which we’re sliding. Challenging listeners to scrutinise what’s missing from their personalised menus, Technology is Not the Problem encourages us to look afresh at the familiar: not just the technology we use every day, how we relate to the world and those around us.

Discover how a humble plant fueled global trade, built modern empires, and sparked devastating human exploitation. Perfect for your daily commute, this fascinating economic microhistory transforms an everyday commodity into a sweeping saga of wealth and conquest. You will never look at the...

Discover the fascinating history of photography as visual culture transforms from ancient shadows to modern digital art. Perfect for your daily commute, this deeply reflective and educational journey explores how trapping light on a surface forever changed human memory and identity. What began...

In the tradition of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Enlightenment Now, and Sapiens, Michael Magoon shows us that by learning from the past, we can let go of our negative attitudes about the present, and change our world for the better. For virtually all of history, humanity was trapped in poverty by geographical constraints. Fortunately for us, a few societies invented the five keys to progress (productive agriculture, cities, decentralization of power, export industries, and fossil fuels), laying the foundations for our current progress. 

During the Roaring Twenties, two of the most revered and influential men in American business proposed to transform one of the country’s poorest regions into a dream technological metropolis, a shining paradise of small farms, giant factories, and sparkling laboratories. Henry Ford and Thomas Edison’s “Detroit of the South” would be 10 times the size of Manhattan, powered by renewable energy, and free of air pollution. And it would reshape American society.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An “irresistible” (The Washington Post) true story of love, murder, and the last moments of the “great hush” before wireless radio connected the world, from the renowned author of The Devil in the White City and The Demon of Unrest “Gripping . . . an...

How do we spark new scientific discoveries? How can we accelerate new breakthroughs in science? These are some of the biggest unsolved questions in science. Many believe that discoveries arise by chance or serendipity. The Engine of Scientific Discovery illustrates, for the first time, how we...

Bloomsbury presents The Road Taken by Henry Petroski, read by Michael Butler Murray A renowned historian and engineer explores the past, present, and future of America's crumbling infrastructure. Acclaimed engineer and historian Henry Petroski explores our core infrastructure from both...

In the year 1600, a monk is burned at the stake for claiming to have built a device that will allow him to know all things. 350 years later, having witnessed 'Trinity' — the first test of the atomic bomb — America's leading scientist outlines a memory machine that will help end war on earth. 25 years in the making, an ex-soldier finally unveils this 'machine for augmenting human intellect', dazzling as he stands 'Zeus-like, dealing lightning with both hands'.

Communication has always been at the heart of human progress. From smoke signals on mountaintops to the invisible Wi-Fi networks that surround us today, every leap forward has reshaped how we share ideas, stay safe, build relationships, and understand the world. From Morse Code to Wi-Fi is a clear, captivating journey through the ten biggest breakthroughs that transformed human connection forever.

How much do you know about your favorite videogame console or any other non-handheld console? Would you like to know more about video game history? If you want to know more about some of the greatest consoles ever, don’t worry, I'll tell you everything I know about them. In this videogame book you will find the history of non-handheld videogame consoles and their evolution, hope you enjoy this video game guide book I prepared for you!

Uncover the epic history of human exploration, from ancient stargazing to the fragile GPS algorithms guiding our world. Perfect for your daily commute or next long road trip, this adventurous journey tackles three deceptively simple questions: Where am I, where am I going, and how do I return?...

“An engrossing microcosm of the internet’s Wild West years” (Kirkus Reviews), award-winning journalist David Kushner tells the incredible battle between the founder of Match.com and the con man who swindled him out of the website Sex.com, resulting in an all-out war for control for what...

The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), designed to quickly deliver thermonuclear weapons to distant targets, was the central weapons system of the Cold War. ICBMs also carried the first astronauts and cosmonauts into orbit. More than a generation later, we are still living with the political, technological, and scientific effects of the space race, while nuclear-armed ICBMs remain on alert and in the headlines around the world. Christopher Gainor explores the US Air Force's decision, in March 1954, to build the Atlas, America's first ICBM. 

The sweeping cultural history of timekeeping reveals how our relentless quest to measure seconds ultimately mastered us. Perfect for an educational morning commute, this thought-provoking journey explores the ancient origins of human scheduling. It transforms the invisible force that dictates...

Since 2020, human-made materials have exceeded the weight of all living biomass on Earth. Nearly half of that mass is concrete, enough to cover the entire planet in a layer two millimetres thick. We tend to think of all these materials – whether dug up or grown, forged or built – as...

An incredible, true-life adventure set on the most dangerous frontier of all—outer spaceIn the nearly forty years since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, space travel has come to be seen as a routine enterprise—at least until the shuttle Columbia disintegrated like the Challenger before it...

Uncover the fascinating technology history behind artificial intelligence and the machines built to amplify human thought. Perfect for a productive morning commute, this thought-provoking narrative traces the evolution of computing from ancient tally sticks to modern neural networks. Be...