false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182360805m/1265022.jpg 1265022 1 Why does technology change over time, how does it change, and what difference does it make? In this sweeping, ambitious look at a thousand years of Western experience, Robert Friedel argues that technological change comes largely through the pursuit of improvement--the deep-rooted belief that things could be done in a better way. What Friedel calls the "culture of improvement" is manifested every day in the ways people carry out their tasks in life--from tilling fields and raising children to waging war.<br> <br> Improvements can be ephemeral or lasting, and one person&rsquo;s improvement may not always be viewed as such by others. Friedel stresses the social processes by which we define what improvements are and decide which improvements will last and which will not. These processes, he emphasizes, have created both winners and losers in history.<br> <br> Friedel presents a series of narratives of Western technology that begin in the eleventh century and stretch into the twenty-first. Familiar figures from the history of invention are joined by others--the Italian preacher who described the first eyeglasses, the dairywomen displaced from their control over cheesemaking, and the little-known engineer who first suggested a grand tower to Gustav Eiffel. Friedel traces technology from the plow and the printing press to the internal combustion engine, the transistor, and the space shuttle. Friedel also reminds us that faith in improvement can sometimes have horrific consequences: improved weaponry makes warfare ever more deadly and the drive for improving human beings can lead to eugenics and even genocide. The most comprehensive attempt to tell the story of Western technology in many years, engagingly written and lavishly illustrated, <i>A Culture of Improvement</i> documents the ways in which the drive for improvement has shaped our modern world. 1253901 1 5 2007 A Culture of Improvement: Technology and the Western Millennium total:7|5:4|4:2|2:1| 7 30 19 2 5 0 false false Mon Jun 15 17:29:01 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 17:31:38 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Oct 29 08:27:39 -0700 2007 Tue Dec 25 14:08:27 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Sat Nov 21 07:32:14 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 21 07:32:14 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 09 16:39:39 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 16:39:39 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Aug 05 04:29:25 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 17:52:11 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sat Apr 04 22:13:08 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 22:13:08 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Mar 24 08:30:57 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 08:30:57 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Mar 11 10:13:45 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 10:13:45 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Mar 12 21:22:48 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 23:46:40 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 12 21:22:48 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 15:15:37 -0800 2009 Mon Jun 08 13:21:12 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jan 02 19:59:58 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 20:00:03 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Dec 28 12:13:55 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 12:13:55 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Fri Dec 26 05:42:26 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 26 05:42:26 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Thu Nov 27 07:48:53 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 27 07:48:59 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Sat Oct 25 22:10:07 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 25 22:10:07 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sat Oct 18 09:35:51 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 18 09:35:51 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Tue Jan 15 10:00:10 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 15 10:00:13 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Tue Jul 28 20:26:57 -0700 2009 Fri Nov 30 12:20:54 -0800 2007 Tue Jul 28 20:26:57 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Aug 03 09:19:18 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 03 09:19:18 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1265022