- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Profile Books; 1st Edition edition (7 Dec 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1861972962
- ISBN-13: 978-1861972965
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 412,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Shock Of The Old : Technology and Global History since 1900
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Product Description
Review
"So the new is old, and the old is new! Edgerton is a splendid corrective to all victims of technodazzle and neophilia. Marvellous stuff, and absolutely spot-on." Simon Jenkins"
The Times, Hugh Pearman
'he eviscerates our obsession with novelty'
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Is the condom more significant in history than the aeroplane? Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Is the condom more significant in history than the aeroplane? Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a terrific antidote to the idea that history is simply a good yarn, spun out for the sake of consistency, and an even better challenge to conventional notions of historical progress. What Edgerton does briliantly is make you re-examine your assumptions about how the world changes. He does not simply look for confirmation of conventional historical archetypes - like the triumph of technology - but seeks to understand the influence of innovation on the big scale, globally, both where it does and does not make a difference, where it goes backwards as well as forwards, or simply stands still. Told with real verve and packed with gems of detail and surprising fact.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book makes important points about our love affair with technology and in doing so makes the conventional wisdom look clapped out. Our innovation fetish makes us unhealthily dependent upon novelty - instead we should carefully consider how to productively wield technology, both old and new. As such I disagree with other reviewers - the thesis is clear: focus on results rather than look for answers in the technology itself. Technical fixes cannot solve human problems.
The book points out the importance of maintenance and smart reuse of existing technology. Poorer people well know this - for example I saw African roads chock full of decrepit vehicles that are daily tended by skilled street mechanics to prolong their working lives. This emphasis on maintenance and reuse dampens the hype surrounding my professional role of developing I.T. systems. For example in Web development the latest fashion is to move beyond the single browser window by web-enabling traditional multi-window applications. This begs the question: if we really needed to stick with the more complex user interface of traditional applications then why did we reject them in in the first place? It is essential that we clarify our aims if we are to disperse the innovation smokescreen.
Technology persists longer than the prevailing wisdom would have us believe. The author cites many examples including that conventional weapons, even in the most recent wars, kill more people than do modern weapons such as nuclear or 'smart' bombs. Take the readily available Kalashnikov: an (admittedly grim) emblem of the book's theme. It is simple to manufacture and maintain, and its rugged robustness wins out over shinier guns that are superior in showroom conditions. In other words it is both readily available and can be relied upon to get the job done.
The book points out the importance of maintenance and smart reuse of existing technology. Poorer people well know this - for example I saw African roads chock full of decrepit vehicles that are daily tended by skilled street mechanics to prolong their working lives. This emphasis on maintenance and reuse dampens the hype surrounding my professional role of developing I.T. systems. For example in Web development the latest fashion is to move beyond the single browser window by web-enabling traditional multi-window applications. This begs the question: if we really needed to stick with the more complex user interface of traditional applications then why did we reject them in in the first place? It is essential that we clarify our aims if we are to disperse the innovation smokescreen.
Technology persists longer than the prevailing wisdom would have us believe. The author cites many examples including that conventional weapons, even in the most recent wars, kill more people than do modern weapons such as nuclear or 'smart' bombs. Take the readily available Kalashnikov: an (admittedly grim) emblem of the book's theme. It is simple to manufacture and maintain, and its rugged robustness wins out over shinier guns that are superior in showroom conditions. In other words it is both readily available and can be relied upon to get the job done.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There is some great content and important ideas in this book. Technology does not march forward in the way most of us expect. Innovation is not necessarily a solution for a nation trying to keep ahead etc. However, I found the book hard work to read. The style jumped from example to example and left me to understand the flow and the core message. It felt like a book written for people that have to read it, rather than a book written for people that want to read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very list-y!
It's an ok book. I got it as my course was heavily based on it, which was useful for me, but it does feel like a large list of examples of historical misconceptions. Read more
Published 16 months ago by T. Jennings
good title good cover terrible book
the ideas in this book could be written on page 1 - the rest is padding. good marketing! if you want to waste 6.99 buy - otherwise don't bother.
Published on 31 Aug 2009 by Mrs. S. C. Lamb
Something missing...
This book has been sitting on my desk for some weeks. I finished it a while ago, but wasn't sure how to review it, because I'm not sure exactly what the author's thesis is. Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2008 by Alan Lenton
Hidden in here is a much better book, I'm sure
...but though there were lots of interesting facts and insights, I'm not really sure there was a clear argument to follow. Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2007 by Jezza
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