Few today realize that electric cabs dominated Manhattan's streets in the 1890s; that Boise, Idaho, had a geothermal heating system in 1910; or that the first megawatt turbine in the world was built in 1941 by the son of publishing magnate G. P. Putnam--a feat that would not be duplicated for another forty years. Likewise, while many remember the oil embargo of the 1970s, few are aware that it led to a corresponding explosion in green-technology research that was only derailed when energy prices later dropped. In other words: We've been here before. Although we may have failed, America has had the chance to put our world on a more sustainable path. Americans have, in fact, been inventing green for more than a century. Half compendium of lost opportunities, half hopeful look toward the future, Powering the Dream tells the stories of the brilliant, often irascible inventors who foresaw our current problems, tried to invent cheap and energy renewable solutions, and drew the blueprint for a green future.
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Like The Pencil, Henry Petroskiâs The Toothpick is a celebration of a humble yet elegant device. As old as mankind and as universal as eating, this useful and ubiquitous tool finally gets its due in this wide-ranging and compulsively readable book. Here is the unexpected story of the simplest of implementsâwhether made of grass, gold, quill, or woodâa story of engineering and design, of culture and class, and a lesson in how to discover the extraordinary in the ordinary.Petroski takes us back to ancient Rome, where the emperor Nero makes his entrance into a banquet hall with a silver toothpick in his mouth; and to a more recent time in Spain, where a young señorita uses the delicately pointed instrument to protect her virtue from someone trying to steal a kiss. He introduces us to Charles Forster, a nineteenth-century Bostonian and father of the American toothpick industry, who hires Harvard students to demand toothpicks in area restaurantsâthereby making their availability in eating establishments as expected as condiments. And Petroski takes us inside the surprisingly secretive toothpick-manufacturing industry, in which one small townâs factories can turn out 200 million wooden toothpicks a day using methods that, except for computer controls, havenât changed much in almost 150 years. He also explores a treasure trove of the toothpickâs unintended uses and perils, from sandwiches to martinis and beyond.With an engineerâs eye for detail and a poetâs flair for language, Petroski has earned his reputation as a writer who explains our worldâfrom the tallest buildings to the lowliest toothpickâto us.
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Shooters prize the semiautomatic Glock for its reliability and ease of use. But what many may not know is that with a few scraps of metal and some simple hand tools, the amateur tinkerer can convert any Glock to full automatic. The conversion design detailed in this book allows properly licensed individuals to transform a regular semiauto pistol into one that delivers selective-fire operation without altering the major components of the gun such as the receiver (frame) or slide. Step-by-step instructions, professionally prepared technical illustrations of weapon functions in semi and full-auto combined with high-quality photos showing the modified factory components and their proper relationships with the full-auto conversion parts allow the reader to clearly see and understand how the whole system works. Warning: Actual construction of the weapon described in this book may be illegal under federal, state, and local laws. All BATF rules apply, and the BATF actively pursues and prosecutes anyone who violates federal gun statutes. Therefore, this book is for academic study only.
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The Northrop YF-17 holds a special place in aircraft history. The YF-17 was one of the two prototypes tested in the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Fighter competition, a program which attempted to reverse the trend of increasing cost and complexity of new fighter aircraft, and which resulted in the selection and manufacture of the F-16 as the next generation free world fighter. Even though the YF-17 lost the USAF competition, it was the prototype for the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 aircraft. Don Logan is also the author of Rockwell B-1B: SAC's Last Bomber, The 388th Tactical Fighter Wing: At Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base 1972, and Northrop's T-38 Talon: A Pictorial History(all three available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).
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A captioned photographic display of kittens.
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George Orwell envisioned Big Brother as an outgrowth of a looming totalitarian state, but in this timely survey Robert O'Harrow Jr. portrays a surveillance society that's less centralized and more a joint public/private venture. Indeed, the most frightening aspect of the Washington Post reporter's thoroughly researched and naggingly disquieting chronicle lies in the matter-of-fact nature of information hunters and gatherers and the insatiable systems they've concocted. Here is a world where data is gathered by relatively unheralded organizations that smooth the way for commercial entities to find the good customers and avoid dicey ones. Government of course too has an interest in the data that's been mined. Information is power, especially when trying to find the bad guys. The mutually compatible skills and needs shared by private and public snoopers were fusing prior to the attacks of 9/11, but the process has since gone into hyperdrive. O'Harrow weaves together vignettes to record the development of the "security-industrial complex," taking pains to personalize his chronicle of a movement that's remained (perhaps purposefully) faceless. Recognizing the appeal of state-of-the-art systems that can track down a murderer/rapist with heretofore unimaginable speed, the author recognizes, too, that the same devices can mistakenly destroy reputations and cast a pall over a free society. In a post-9/11 world where homeland security often trumps personal liberty, this work is an eye-opener for those who take their privacy for granted. --Steven Stolder
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The Scientific Revolution (roughly 1500 to 1700) is considered to be the central episode in the history of science, the historical moment when "modern science" and its attendant institutions emerged. This book challenges the traditional historiography of the Scientific Revolution. Starting with a dialogue between Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs and Richard S. Westfall, whose understanding of the Scientific Revolution differs in important ways, the papers in this volume reconsider canonical figures, their areas of study, and the formation of disciplinary boundaries during this seminal period of European intellectual history.
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"IT'S CHOCKABLOCK WITH CURIOUS LORE....[James and Thorpe] have amassed scores of persuasive testimonials of primeval ingenuity."--The Boston GlobeWe in the twentieth century tend to assume that our era has a monopoly on the inventions of clever machines, labor-saving devices, feats of engineering, and advanced technology. But as the authors of this fascinating and eye-opening book reveal, some of humankind's most important and most amazing inventions actually date back thousands of years. Historian Peter James and archaeologist Nick Thorpe have pooled their expertise in amassing this compendium of human ingenuity through the ages. Together they conclusively prove that our ancestors, however long ago they lived and whatever part of the globe they occupied, were brilliant problem-solvers. Written with the pure joy of discovery, Ancient Inventions reveals that:* Medieval Baghdad had an efficient postal service, banks, and a paper mill.* Rudimentary calendars were being used in France as early as 13,000 B.C.* Apartment condominiums rose in deserts of the American Southwest a thousand years ago.* The ancient Greeks used an early form of computer.* Plastic surgery was being performed in India by the first century B.C.* The Egyptians knew about effective contraceptives.* Flamethrowers were used in battles waged in tenth-century China.Brimming with odd facts and entertaining curiosities, written with zest and humor, comprehensive and fun to read, Ancient Inventions is a wonderful celebration of the endless inventiveness of the human mind."This presentation of the discoveries and innovations of the ancients will fascinate."--Booklist"Thoroughly researched...It is doubtful that anyone could examine [this book] without coming away enlightened in one of its broadly ranging areas."--Library JournalAN ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE QUALITY PAPERBACK BOOK CLUB AND THE NATURAL SCIENCE BOOK CLUB
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The blueprint for the future of the American Space Programme. This book is both an argument for why humankind has an obligation to explore and colonize our apparently lifeless universe, and a practical step-by-step manual showing how we can inhabit other planets and travel amongst the stars. Plans range from constructing floating sea cities which can be used as training grounds for space colonization to building lunar ecospheres and harnessing the dream of using anti-matter for fuel.
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The Thunderbird was originally designed to be small and racy with a unique look and personality that would set it apart from its contemporaries. Although never intended to be a sports car, it was only 52.1" high and its 102 wheelbase was an inch and a half shorter than that of the Model A! Luxurious enough for the most discriminating buyer, the 1955 model offered plush vinyl upholstery, "Astra Dial" control panel, adjustable steering wheel, tachometer and clock, all standard. Yet with its 292 cubic inch V-8 engine (rated at 198 horsepower), four barrel carburetor and dual exhausts, it was high-spirited enough for any enthusiast. The car was recognized immediately as a breakthrough in automotive engineering and design and soon developed a dedicate owner body. Although the original two-seated Thunderbird was manufactured for only three years, it was so advanced in concept that its influence in the automobile industry is still being felt today as the Ford Motor Company again presents its descendents. Despite many changes through the forty years leading to its demise in the mid-nineties and re-birth on 2001 Thunderbird retained its individuality and has earned its soubriquet "Unique in all the World". In these page one can revisit and enjoy another look at the unique world which is.... THUNDERBIRD!
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