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The Shock Of The Old David Edgerton

The Shock Of The Old By David Edgerton

The Shock Of The Old by David Edgerton


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New RRP £12,99
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The Shock Of The Old Summary

The Shock Of The Old: Technology and Global History since 1900 by David Edgerton

'It's rare for a book to make you see the world differently, but this ... does exactly that on almost every page' Guardian Standard histories of technology give tired accounts of the usual inventions, inventors, and dates, framing technology as the inevitable march of progress. They split history into ages - electrification, motorisation, and computerisation - and rarely ask whether anyone bothered to use these inventions at the time. Shock of the Old is not one of those histories. I Letters exist alongside emails and outlasted telegrams; we still make physical books and magazines despite the rise of the Internet - a belated rise considering that the technologies that made it possible was invented in 1965, and bookshops thrive despite Amazon. More horses were used in the Second World War than any other war in history and propeller planes continue to take off from the same runways as jets. Shock of the Old forces us to reassess the significance of old inventions such as corrugated iron and sewing machines and rethink the relative importance we place on the invention of something new, its application, and its widespread adoption. It challenges the idea that we live in an era of ever increasing change and, interweaving political, economic and cultural history, teaches us to think critically about technology.

The Shock Of The Old Reviews

he eviscerates our obsession with novelty... * The Sunday Times *
newfangled things are sexy, but how significant are they?...Edgerton provides a corrective by emphasising some of the overlooked technologies that affect the lives of many. * Newsweek *
David Edgerton's The Shock of the Old is a book I can use. I can take it in two hands and bash it over the heads of every techno-nerd, computer geek and neophiliac futurologist I meet. -- Simon Jenkins * Guardian *
...iconoclastic and thought-provoking book...he makes a strong case that accords with what Virgil identified around 25BC as a definitive human characteristic. Our lives consist of semper cedentia retro: always going forwards backwards. * The Times *
It's rare for a book to make you see the world differently, but this alternative history does exactly that on almost every page. * Guardian *

About David Edgerton

Born in Montevideo in 1959, David Edgerton is one of Britain's leading historians, and has challenged conventional analyses of technology for 20 years. Currently a Professor at Kings College London, he writes for the broadsheet press and is a regular on television and radio. He is the author of The Rise and fall of the British Nation (2018), Britain's War Machine (2011), and Warfare State (2005). He lives in London.

Additional information

GOR010899283
9781788163088
1788163087
The Shock Of The Old: Technology and Global History since 1900 by David Edgerton
Used - Like New
Paperback
Profile Books Ltd
20190404
304
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
The book has been read, but looks new. The book cover has no visible wear, and the dust jacket is included if applicable. No missing or damaged pages, no tears, possible very minimal creasing, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins

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