HIST 210: History of Modern Science: Books to Borrow & E-books

In this book, author John F. Kasson asks how new technologies have affected the drive for a republican civilization -- and the question is as vital now as ever. A major theme of American history has always been the desire to achieve a genuinely republican way of life that values liberty, order, and virtue. This book was an innovative and compelling work when it first appeared in 1976. Kasson's analysis of the technical developments in transportation, communication, and manufacture from the Revolution to the 19th century showed how technologies were dealt with in sources as diverse as the debates of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson; the factories of Lowell, Massachusetts; the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson; the prints of Currier & Ives; and the utopian and dystopian novels of William Dean Howells and Mark Twain.

This study explores the practice of scientific inquiry as it took place in the 18th-century home. While histories of science have identified the genteel household as an important site for scientific experiment, they have tended to do so in the context of biographies of important men of science. Using a wide range of historical source material, from household accounts and inventories to letters and print culture, this book investigates the tools within reach of early modern householders in their search for knowledge. It considers the under-explored question of the home as a site of knowledge production, and does so by viewing scientific inquiry as one of many interrelated domestic practices. It shows that knowledge production and consumption were necessary facets of domestic life, and that the 18th-century home generated practices that were integral to Enlightenment-era inquiry.

To be human is to wonder. The impulse to ask questions is hardwired into our DNA, and for 300 millennia, people have been searching for answers. In this book, author Mary Cruse takes readers on a fascinating journey through the evolution of this discipline in its many strands. Throughout the centuries, our conception of what constitutes 'science' has developed and expanded, from ancient natural philosophers and medieval alchemists to Renaissance scholars and Enlightenment reformers. Modern science evokes images of bubbling test tubes and spotless lab coats, but this limited perception inhibits us in truly understanding the progress of science throughout history. Cruse does not fall into this trap. Learn about the development of agricultural tools, the study of weather patterns, mapmaking, mathematics and modern geology. Delve into the cutting-edge science of the 21st century: genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, sustainable energy projects, and more. Filled with useful timelines, fun facts, and profiles of key characters, this book is a fascinating read.

This absorbing history of technology takes readers from prehistory to the present, from stone implements, the wheel, and the first geared machines to the transistor and the supercomputer. With a keen eye for the insight that marks a breakthrough in human problem-solving and a wide-ranging sympathy for its social and cultural contexts, author Donald Cardwell chronicles how human curiosity and inventiveness slowly led to the first tools and machines; how technological progress accelerated over time, as major breakthroughs released floods of further inventions; the close links between "pure" science and technology; and the human factors -- personal and social -- that help or hinder technological change.

By the simple expedient of asking questions and conducting experiments to answer them, science has transformed our understanding of the world. It has made us who we are, and revealed a universe that is older, bigger, and stranger than we could ever have imagined. This book is an accessible and easy-to-use introduction to the scientific world, what it has achieved over the past few hundred years and what it promises for the future. Covering everything from the Big Bang to global warming, it provides everything you need to know in one book. You will learn what science has discovered about matter, space, energy, life, weather, and information, and how we have transformed these discoveries into our modern technologies. You will witness the birth of the solar system, follow ocean currents for thousands of miles, ride on beams of light and, ultimately, gain a deeper understanding of issues as complex as global warming, and as controversial as synthetic life.

This book offers a comprehensive survey of Western technology from the 17th century with Galileo to the Scientific Revolution to the 20th century.