The Shock Of The Old by David Edgerton
Whereas standard histories of technology give tired old accounts of the usual inventions - planes, bombs - The Shock of the Old is based on a different idea. Its thrust is that for the full picture of the history of technology we need to know not about what a few people invented, but about what everyday people used - and when they actually used things, if it was a long time after invention. It therefore reassesses the significance of, for example, the Pill and IT, and shows the continued importance of technology such as corrugated iron and sewing machines. In taking this approach, The Shock of the Old challenges the idea that we live in an era of ever increasing change. Interweaving political, economic and cultural history, it will show what it means to think critically about technology and its importance.
So the new is old, and the old is new! Marvellous stuff, and absolutely spot-on* Simon Jenkins *
he eviscerates our obsession with novelty... -- Hugh Pearman * 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. -- John Sparks * 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 *
he eviscerates our obsession with novelty... -- Hugh Pearman * 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. -- John Sparks * 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 *
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 the Hans Rausing Professor at Imperial College London, he writes for the broadsheet press and is a regular on television and radio. He lives in London.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781861972965 |
| ISBN 10 | 1861972962 |
| Title | The Shock Of The Old |
| Author | David Edgerton |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Profile Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2006-12-07 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |