Technology History Nonfiction

From Oxford's leading AI researcher comes a fun and accessible tour through the history and future of one of the most cutting edge and misunderstood field in science: Artificial Intelligence The somewhat ill-defined long-term aim of AI is to build machines that are conscious, self-aware, and...

Tracy Kidder's "riveting" (Washington Post) story of one company's efforts to bring a new microcomputer to market won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and has become essential reading for understanding the history of the American tech industry. Computers have changed since...

Review from sALIENt - 5 stars - Unputdownable - "Very different book from the ones I generally read but found once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. The storyline grabs you and you just have to know what happened next. A really good read." Lights in the Woods: Unravelling the Rendlesham Forest Mystery. Rendlesham Forest, located in Suffolk, England, is a site of significant interest not only for nature lovers but also for those intrigued by unexplained phenomena. This vast expanse of woodlands, encompassing approximately 5,800 acres, gained international notoriety due to the ...

All throughout history, Black men have made important contributions to scientific discovery. This collection of biographies for kids explores 15 of these intelligent men and the extraordinary scientific accomplishments they achieved—even when they faced huge challenges. You’ll learn how they stood up against racism and inequality and never stopped following their passions for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Tesla: The Man Who Saw the Future and Lived in the Shadows Step into the extraordinary life of Nikola Tesla—the forgotten genius who lit the world, dreamed of wireless power, and lived years ahead of his time. From his humble beginnings in a small village in Croatia to the dazzling laboratories of New York City, Tesla transformed electricity, wireless communication, and modern engineering. He battled giants like Thomas Edison, envisioned technologies that seemed impossible, and became a legend shrouded in mystery. Yet despite his brilliance, Tesla’s final years were spent in obscurity...

The untold story of the battle for the laser—a technology that powers our modern world. In 1957, a brilliant yet unassuming physicist named Gordon Gould imagined a device that could amplify light into a perfectly focused beam. He called it the laser. Within a few short years, lasers would revolutionize everything from medicine to manufacturing, communications to entertainment. But while the world celebrated, Gould was left in the shadows. His patent was classified by the U.S. government, his work buried under Cold War secrecy. Rival scientists and corporate giants rushed ahead, taking ...

Discover the inventions you didn’t know you couldn’t live without. Brilliantly Overlooked: The Hidden Tech That Changed Our World takes you on a journey through seven unsung innovations that quietly shaped modern life—from the rotary washing machine and the Thermos flask to fuel cells, gas turbines, and the zipper. Each chapter brings to life the story behind a seemingly simple invention: who made it, how it works, and why it matters far more than it gets credit for. With vivid storytelling, accessible science, and historical depth, this book makes engineering and design come alive ...

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface in July of 1969, they wore spacesuits made by Playtex: 21 layers of fabric, each with a distinct yet interrelated function, custom-sewn for them by seamstresses whose usual work was fashioning bras and girdles. This book is the story of that spacesuit. It is a story of the triumph over the military-industrial complex by the International Latex Corporation, best known by its consumer brand of "Playtex" - a victory of elegant softness over engineered hardness, of adaptation over cybernetics.

They weren’t supposed to succeed. So they changed the rules. Throughout the 19th century, women were told to be quiet, ornamental, and obedient—to tend the parlor, not the laboratory; to nurture children, not ideas. But behind the velvet curtains and beyond the parlor walls, something extraordinary was happening. Women across the world were inventing themselves—into chemists and astronomers, engineers and tycoons, doctors and dreamers. They were building the future while history forgot their names. Inventing Herself uncovers the true stories of women whose work shaped science, ...

THE STRANGEST COLD WAR HEIST YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF—AND IT REALLY HAPPENED. June 1962. An abandoned Soviet drifting ice station groans in the polar night. Two American operatives, half-frozen and hauling armfuls of secret gear, stare into a blizzard and pray they can hear engines. Their ride home isn’t a helicopter or submarine—it’s a lumbering World War II B‑17 that intends to snatch them off the ice with a balloon, a cable, and a V‑shaped hook. Miss once and they die. Hit it, and they’re yanked into the sky like human kites. Skyhooked: The Untold Shocking True Story of ...

Learn how fossils teach us about dinosaurs.

Before their experiments, inventions, and discoveries that changed the world, the world’s most celebrated scientists had regular-kid problems just like you. Stephen Hawking hated school and preferred to spend his free time building model airplanes, inventing board games, and even building his own computer. Jane Goodall got in trouble for bringing worms and snails into her house. And Neil deGrasse Tyson had to start a dog-walking business to save up money to buy a telescope.

Welcome to Peru! Hike through the clouds to ancient cities of the Andes Mountains. Hear the calls of birds in the Amazon rain forest. Learn about the people, places, and traditions of this beautiful South American country.

Experience Earth from the big bang to the dinosaurs and beyond in this beautifully written, vibrant overview of our home planet's journey from creation to our time today.

Travel to Afghanistan. Find out the facts about this country in Asia.

Welcome to South Africa! Hear the sounds of 11 official languages. Learn about lions and elephants on safari. Try new sports like cricket and rugby. Learn about the people, places, and traditions of this diverse African country.

Travel to Mexico. Find out the facts about this country in North America.

Numerous enterprises have leveraged literary works spanning across eras to steer their Artificial Intelligence down the path of comprehending human existence, with a more distinct focus on crafting top-tier human-like prose. In the realm of education, AI has ingeniously generated an array of refined intellectual compositions.

In this previously unpublished manuscript, found in the Rothbard Archives, Rothbard deftly turns the tables on the supporters of big government and their mandate for control of research and development in all areas of the hard sciences. What R&D should be encouraged and funded, what inventions should be supported, and what areas should be given research grants, etc.? These decisions can be decided only by markets unburdened by government meddling and intervention.

Learn something about everything with 13 mind-blowing facts plus a little myth-buster about every topic under (and including) the sun! Everyday objects from cars and skeletons to pianos and chocolate take young readers on an incredible factual adventure. Did you know that one in every four...