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Historys Worst Inventions And The People Who Made Them Eric Chaline
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Book Synopsis History's Worst Inventions by : Eric Chaline
Download or read book History's Worst Inventions written by Eric Chaline and published by Pier 9. This book was released on 2009 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: History's Worst Inventions is a light-hearted look at 50 of the worst inventions to grace the history of humankind. It casts light on the failures of otherwise celebrated inventors from Da Vinci to Edison, alongside the work of less well known and sometimes short-lived pioneers. Each entry outlines the inventor and his/her invention, as well as the reasons for its shortcomings, and their extent and consequences. They bring the personalities, history, science, politics and intrigue behind each of the innovations to life, before going on to unveil their consequences. History's Worst Inventions is illustrated in full colour using a wide range of drawings, paintings, photographs and maps.
Book Synopsis History's Worst Predictions by : Eric Chaline
Download or read book History's Worst Predictions written by Eric Chaline and published by Pier 9. This book was released on 2011 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: History's Worst Predictions is a lighthearted look at fifty of the grandest predictions the world has seen - and how they proved to be spectacularly wrong. Every aspect of human life - religion, politics, science, economy, culture and war - has provided material for the most far-fetched and inaccurate of predictions. The book asks why we are still here, given that the end of the world has been foretold over 200 times, including: for 1833 by William Miller, who claimed to be in direct contact with God, and for 1997 by Nostradamus, king of the poor prediction. This beautifully illustrated, full-colour volume contains photographs and maps that bring each chapter to life, depicting the people and institutions responsible for some of the most infamous predictions in human history.
Download or read book Strokes of Genius written by Eric Chaline and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What could be better than diving into cool water on a hot day? In this enormously enjoyable and informative history of swimming, Eric Chaline sums up this most summery of moments with one phrase: pleasure beckons at the water’s edge. Strokes of Genius traces the history of swimming from the first civilizations to its current worldwide popularity as a sport, fitness pastime, and leisure activity. Chaline explores swimming’s role in ritual, early trade and manufacturing, warfare, and medicine, before describing its transformation in the early modern period into a leisure activity and a competitive sport—the necessary precursors that have made it the most common physical pastime in the developed world. The book celebrates the physicality and sensuality of swimming—attributes that Chaline argues could have contributed to the evolution of the human species. Swimming, like other disciplines that use repetitive movements to train the body and quiet the mind, is also a means of spiritual awakening—a personal journey of discovery. Swimming has attained the status of a cultural marker, denoting eroticism, leisure, endurance, adventure, exploration, and excellence. Strokes of Genius shows that there is not a single story of human swimming, but many currents that merge, diverge, and remerge. Chaline argues that swimming will become particularly important as we look toward a warmer future in which our survival may depend on our ability to adapt to life in an aquatic world.
Book Synopsis History's Worst Disasters by : Eric Chaline
Download or read book History's Worst Disasters written by Eric Chaline and published by Pier 9. This book was released on 2013 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: HISTORY'S WORST DISASTERS takes an informative look at fifty of the biggest catastrophes in history, and paints an inspiring picture of humankind's capacity to turn the tide of adversity. The world we live in is usually benign and forgiving, but on numerous occasions over the course of history it has also provided us with a reminder of the precarious nature of our existence. HISTORY'S WORST DISASTERS deals with the worst of these events, describing fifty of the most extreme disasters we have suffered, from those natural phenomena which were beyond our control to the catastrophes we brought on ourselves and for which we have only ourselves to blame. Beginning 65 million years ago with the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, which accounted for the dinosaurs and almost extinguished all life on Earth, we move on to examine disasters that have occurred throughout the entire span of human history: the earthquakes and epidemics, the famines and hurricanes, and those horrors we have inflicted on each other through massacres, genocide and war. In addition, there are examples of disasters brought on by financial, political, and military incompetence, together with those which have arisen as a result of our industrial development, at, for instance, Chernobyl and Bhopal, and those associated with mass transportation, such as the sinking of the Titanic. Finally we take a look at environmental disasters, both actual, like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the dessication of the Aral Sea, and those which have the potential to cause us all manner of trouble in the future, including the loss of biodiversity and climate change. The scope of this book is to go beyond being a catalog of death and destruction in order to examine the consequences of these terrible events and to tell the stories of those people involved in them. Despite all the tragedy and strife, we have shown a remarkable capacity for both physical and mental endurance and have consistently demonstrated our ability to adapt to whatever is thrown at us and then bounce back even stronger than before. What emerges is a portrait of the fortitude and resilience of human beings in the face of adversity, allowing us to gain an appreciation for just how precious life is and how fragile our grip on it can be.
Download or read book Iron Lights written by Felicity Banks and published by . This book was released on 2018-08-28 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emmeline Muchamore was respectable once. Her sweetheart, Matilda Newry, certainly put a stop to that. But when Emmeline gains magical insight into a disastrous future battle, she weaponises her wild reputation in order to draw trouble and death away from her adopted home ¿ risking everything and everyone she loves in the process.Iron Lights is a steam-powered tale of honour, love, magic, adventure, and mechanical spiders.
Book Synopsis Big History and the Future of Humanity by : Fred Spier
Download or read book Big History and the Future of Humanity written by Fred Spier and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-05-06 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: big history and the future of humanity “This remains the best single attempt to theorize big history as a discipline that can link core concepts and paradigms across all historical disciplines, from cosmology to geology, from biology to human history. With additional and updated material, the Second Edition also offers a fine introduction to the history of big history and a superb introductory survey to the big history story. Essential reading for anyone interested in a rapidly evolving new field of scholarship that links the sciences and the humanities into a modern, science-based origin story.” David Christian, Macquarie University “Notable for its theoretic approach, this new Second Edition is both an indispensable contribution to the emerging big history narrative and a powerful university textbook. Spier defines words carefully and recognizes the limits of current knowledge, aspects of his own clear thinking.” Cynthia Brown, Emerita, Dominican University of California Reflecting the latest theories in the sciences and humanities, this new edition of Big History and the Future of Humanity presents an accessible and original overview of the entire sweep of history from the origins of the universe and life on Earth up to the present day. Placing the relatively brief period of human history within a much broader framework – one that considers everything from vast galaxy clusters to the tiniest sub-atomic particles – big history is an innovative theoretical approach that opens up entirely new multidisciplinary research agendas. Noted historian Fred Spier reveals how a thorough examination of patterns of complexity can offer richer insights into what the future may have in store for humanity. The second edition includes new learning features, such as highlighted scientific concepts, an illustrative timeline and comprehensive glossary. By exploring the cumulative history from the Big Bang to the modern day, Big History and the Future of Humanity, Second Edition, sheds important historical light on where we have been – and offers a tantalizing glimpse of what lies ahead.
Book Synopsis Fifty Animals That Changed the Course of History by : Eric Chaline
Download or read book Fifty Animals That Changed the Course of History written by Eric Chaline and published by Fifty Things That Changed the. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating stories of the animals that changed civilizations.
Book Synopsis Fifty Machines that Changed the Course of History by : Eric Chaline
Download or read book Fifty Machines that Changed the Course of History written by Eric Chaline and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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), Lumière 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.
Book Synopsis Symbols of the Occult by : Eric Chaline
Download or read book Symbols of the Occult written by Eric Chaline and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2021-09-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering astronomy, demonology, witchcraft, ancient magic, and much more, this book serves as a directory to decoding over 500 signs, symbols, and icons of the occult. This expansive illustrated directory showcases the key signs and symbols of the occult. Each entry has been carefully selected for its powerful symbolism, and the stylish illustrations span from the myths and legends of the ancient world to the icons used in modern science. Award-winning author Eric Chaline introduces each topic with a short overview before featuring the key signs and symbols and exploring similar and related entries. Including signs from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, as well as Aztec, Celtic, Slavic, Native American, and Hindu societies, Symbols of the Occult examines more than 500 symbols from history, art, and culture by decoding their iconography and exploring their historical significance. Arranged by topic, this volume collects the key areas of astrology and cosmology; witchcraft and mysticism; satanism and demonology; science and alchemy; math and sacred geometry; the natural world; and symbols of ancient and secret societies. This guide is the ultimate resource for the modern occultist.
Book Synopsis Ruth Crawford Seeger by : Judith Tick
Download or read book Ruth Crawford Seeger written by Judith Tick and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-02-10 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) is frequently considered the most significant American female composer in this century. Joining Aaron Copland and Henry Cowell as a key member of the 1920s musical avant-garde, she went on to study with modernist theorist and future husband Charles Seeger, writing her masterpiece, String Quartet 1931, not long after. But her legacy extends far beyond the cutting edge of modern music. Collaborating with poet Carl Sandburg on folk song arrangements in the twenties, and with the famous folk-song collectors John and Alan Lomax in the 1930s, she emerged as a central figure in the American folk music revival, issuing several important books of transcriptions and arrangements and pioneering the use of American folk songs in children's music education. Radicalized by the Depression, she spent much of the ensuing two decades working aggressively for social change with her husband and stepson, the folksinger Pete Seeger. This engrossing new biography emphasizes the choices Crawford Seeger made in her roles as composer, activist, teacher, wife and mother. The first woman to win a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in music composition, Crawford Seeger nearly gave up writing music as the demands of family, politics, and the folk song movement intervened. It was only at the very end of her life, with cancer sapping her strength, that she returned to composing. Written with unique insight and compassion, this book offers the definitive treatment of a fascinating twentieth-century figure.
Book Synopsis The 21st Century Singularity and Global Futures by : Andrey V. Korotayev
Download or read book The 21st Century Singularity and Global Futures written by Andrey V. Korotayev and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-01-02 with total page 619 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces a 'Big History' perspective to understand the acceleration of social, technological and economic trends towards a near-term singularity, marking a radical turning point in the evolution of our planet. It traces the emergence of accelerating innovation rates through global history and highlights major historical transformations throughout the evolution of life, humans, and civilization. The authors pursue an interdisciplinary approach, also drawing on concepts from physics and evolutionary biology, to offer potential models of the underlying mechanisms driving this acceleration, along with potential clues on how it might progress. The contributions gathered here are divided into five parts, the first of which studies historical mega-trends in relation to a variety of aspects including technology, population, energy, and information. The second part is dedicated to a variety of models that can help understand the potential mechanisms, and support extrapolation. In turn, the third part explores various potential future scenarios, along with the paths and decisions that are required. The fourth part presents philosophical perspectives on the potential deeper meaning and implications of the trend towards singularity, while the fifth and last part discusses the implications of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Given its scope, the book will appeal to scholars from various disciplines interested in historical trends, technological change and evolutionary processes.
Download or read book The Path Not Taken written by Jeff Horn and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2008-08-29 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Path Not Taken, Jeff Horn argues that—contrary to standard, Anglocentric accounts—French industrialization was not a failed imitation of the laissez-faire British model but the product of a distinctive industrial policy that led, over the long term, to prosperity comparable to Britain's. Despite the upheavals of the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, France developed and maintained its own industrial strengths. France was then able to take full advantage of the new technologies and industries that emerged in the "second industrial revolution," and by the end of the nineteenth century some of France's industries were outperforming Britain's handily. The Path Not Taken shows that the foundations of this success were laid during the first industrial revolution. Horn posits that the French state's early attempt to emulate Britain's style of industrial development foundered because of revolutionary politics. The "threat from below" made it impossible for the state or entrepreneurs to control and exploit laborers in the British manner. The French used different means to manage labor unruliness and encourage innovation and entrepreneurialism. Technology is at the heart of Horn's analysis, and he shows that France, unlike England, often preferred still-profitable older methods of production in order to maintain employment and forestall revolution. Horn examines the institutional framework established by Napoleon's most important Minister of the Interior, Jean-Antoine Chaptal. He focuses on textiles, chemicals, and steel, looks at how these new institutions created a new industrial environment. Horn's illuminating comparison of French and British industrialization should stir debate among historians, economists, and political scientists.
Book Synopsis Continuity and Discontinuity in the Peopling of Europe by : Silvana Condemi
Download or read book Continuity and Discontinuity in the Peopling of Europe written by Silvana Condemi and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-03-23 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the Western world first became aware of the existence of Neanderthals, this Pleistocene human has been a regular focus of interest among specialists and also among the general public. In fact, we know far more about Neanderthals than we do about any other extinct human population. Furthermore, over the past 150 years no other palaeospecies has been such a constant source of discussion and fierce debate among palaeoanthropologists and archaeologists. This book presents the status of our knowledge as well as the methods and techniques used to study this extinct population and it suggests perspectives for future research.
Book Synopsis Rethinking Military History by : Jeremy Black
Download or read book Rethinking Military History written by Jeremy Black and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume re-positions military history at the beginning of the 21st century. Jeremy Black reveals the main trends in the practice and approach to military history and proposes a new manifesto for the subject to move forward.
Download or read book Wonderland written by Steven Johnson and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-11-29 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Everyone knows the old saying "necessity is the mother of invention," but if you do a paternity test on many of the modern world's most important ideas or institutions, you will find, invariably, that leisure and play were involved in the conception as well." Most history books don't concern themselves with delight. History is the serious business of war, treaties, governments and monarchs. This is a different kind of history book. Steven Johnson argues that if you want to understand how we got to now, you have to understand pleasure and play. A staggering amount of the landscape of modern life is populated by environments and technology designed to entertain and delight us. Here history of popular entertainment, arguing that the pursuit of novelty and wonder is a powerful driver of world-shaping technological change. Throughout history, he locates the cutting edge of innovation wherever people are working the hardest to keep themselves and others amused. He introduces us to the colorful innovators of leisure: the explorers, proprietors, showmen, and artists who changed the trajectory of history with their luxurious wares, exotic meals, taverns, gambling tables, and magic shows.
Download or read book Heart of Brass written by Felicity Banks and published by . This book was released on 2016-07-25 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emmeline Muchamore is a well-bred young lady hiding explosive family secrets. She needs to marry well in order to keep her family respectable. But when her brass heart malfunctions, she steals the parts she needs to repair it and survive. She is arrested and transported to Australia - right in the midst of the Gold Rush.
Download or read book Sting written by Paul Carr and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2017-09-15 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gordon Sumner was born in a mainly working-class area of North Tyneside, England, in 1951. Decades later, we would come to know him as Sting, one of the world’s best-selling music artists. Sting was the lead singer of the Police from 1977 to 1984 before launching a hugely successful solo career. In Sting:From Northern Skies to Fields of Gold, popular music scholar Paul Carr argues that the foundations of Sting’s creativity and drive for success were established by his birthplace, with vestiges of his “Northern Englishness” continuing to emerge in his music long after he left his hometown. Carr frames Sting’s creative impetus and output against the real, imagined, and idealized places he has occupied. Focusing on the sometimes-blurry borderlines between nostalgia, facts, imagination, and memories—as told by Sting, the people who knew (and know) him, and those who have written about him—Carr investigates the often complex resonance between local boy Gordon Sumner and the star the world knows as Sting. Published to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of the formation of the definitive line-up of the Police, this is the first book to examine the relationship between Sting’s working class background in Newcastle, the life he has consequently lived, and the creativity and inspiration behind his music.
