Inventions History

In this fascinating history spanning continents and centuries, historian David Wootton offers a lively defense of science, revealing why the Scientific Revolution was truly the greatest event in our history. The Invention of Science goes back 500 years in time to chronicle this crucial transformation, exploring the factors that led to its birth and the people who made it happen. Wootton argues that the Scientific Revolution was actually five separate yet concurrent events that developed independently.

A rollicking, enlightening examination of humanity’s changing relationship to creativity, written from the perspectives of the Greek Muses. The thing that sets humans apart from other animals is our ability to create, to imagine how one thing could become something else. For millennia, art and...

Jesus of Nazareth wrote nothing. No letter, no saying in his own hand, not a single line. The most consequential life in Western history left, from the man himself, not one word — and everything we think we know about him comes to us through others: through Paul, who barely mentions his life; through four anonymous Gospels written decades later, in a language he did not speak, that disagree on the most basic facts; through the heretics who were silenced and the councils that voted on his nature. This book is about that gap — and why two thousand years of searching have never closed it. ...

What makes us moral beings? How do we decide what is good and what is evil? And has it always been that way? Hanno Sauer's sweeping new history of humanity, covering five million years of our universal moral values, comes at a crucial moment of crisis for those values, and helps to explain how they arose—and why we need them. Modern societies are in crisis: a shared universal morality seems to be a thing of the past. Hanno Sauer explains why this appearance is deceptive: in fact, there are universal values that all people share. 

He told you he came, he saw, he conquered — and you believed him. This is the story of how Julius Caesar invented Julius Caesar: the most successful act of self-mythology in Western history, traced through the documents that built the legend, with an original critical study. Every other great figure was invented after death, by other hands. Caesar invented himself — in his own lifetime, in his own words, writing of his conquests in the cool third person ("Caesar advanced," "Caesar decided") so that propaganda would read as objective history. This volume gathers, for the first time as a ...

Written by an author with plenty of experience holding a scalpel, Dr. David Schneider's in-depth biography is an encompassing history of the practice that has leapt forward over the centuries from the dangerous guesswork of ancient Greek physicians through the world-changing implant revolution of the 20th century.

In this extraordinary book, an award-winning author tells the story of how humans invented history, from the Stone Age to the Virtual Age “Terrific… Tamim Ansary explores the underappreciated ways that empires, nations, and smaller sets of people have responded to their surroundings...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. 'A remarkable achievement' - Stephen Fry In 2015 #thedress captured the world's imagination. Was the dress in the picture white and gold or blue and black? It inspired the author to ask: if people in the same time and place can see the same thing...

"Lauritzen has some good ideas..." — Daniel Dennett, Philosopher & Author "Anyone interested in science and religion should read this book." — Dr. Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D., Award-Winning Psychologist "Bill Lauritzen is some kind of genius." — Sir Arthur C. Clarke "An interesting and thought-provoking book." — Dr. Mamikon Mnatsakanian, Ph.D, Astrophysicist, Caltech How did mythology and religion first begin? Where did the ideas of “God,” “spirit,” and “soul” come from? In this groundbreaking work, the author takes us back to our prehistoric roots, showing how early humans ...

Dyson has become a byword for high-performing products, technology, design, and invention. Now, James Dyson, the inventor and entrepreneur who made it all happen, tells his remarkable and inspirational story in Invention: A Life, “one of the year’s most relevant and revelatory business...

Sicily has always acted as a gateway between Europe and the rest of the world. Fought over by the Phoenicians and Greeks, the Romans, Goths and Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Germans, and the Spanish and the French for thousands of years, Sicily became a unique melting pot where diverse traditions merged, producing a unique heritage and singular culture. In this fascinating account of the island from the earliest times to the present day, author and journalist Jamie Mackay leads us through this most elusive of places.

From bestselling author Gary Krist, the story of the metropolis that never should have been and the visionaries who dreamed it into reality Little more than a century ago, the southern coast of California—bone-dry, harbor-less, isolated by deserts and mountain ranges—seemed destined to...

The first volume of two in a new, updated edition of the 2012 book Playing at the World, which charts the vast and complex history of role-playing games. This new edition of Playing at the World is the first of two volumes that update the 720-page original tome of the same name from 2012. This first volume is The Invention of Dungeons & Dragons, which explores the publication of that iconic game.

Dive into the deep ocean and explore the thrilling military history and engineering breakthroughs of underwater travel. From ancient diving bells to lethal Cold War nuclear platforms, discover how daring visionaries conquered the ultimate hostile environment. Perfect for an adventurous commute...

Terrifying Inventions of American History: Wild Schemes, Wacky Gadgets, and the Risky Minds Who Tried to Change the World American innovation has never been simple - or safe. From early steam-powered machines and malfunctioning office equipment to dangerous toys, medical misfires, and deadly household “conveniences,” this book uncovers the real inventions that once put lives, limbs, and common sense to the test. Drawn from public-domain reports, newspapers, patent archives, and historical accounts, each chapter explores the strange, surprising, and sometimes frightening devices created ...

The world is never finished catching up with Vaclav Smil. In his latest and perhaps most digestible book, Invention and Innovation, the prolific author—a favorite of Bill Gates—pens an insightful and fact-filled jaunt through the history of human invention. Impatient with the hype that so often accompanies innovation, Smil offers in this book a clear-eyed corrective to the overpromises that accompany everything from new cures for diseases to AI.

When Ben Coates injures his leg and needs to rebuild his strength by walking, he finds himself presented with an exciting opportunity: to rediscover the city he has been working in for over a decade, at a slower pace. He devises ten walks, each demonstrating a different chapter of Amsterdam's history, from its humble beginnings in the early 1200s as a small fishing community through two Golden Ages, fueled by the growth of the Dutch colonial empire, two world wars, and countless reinventions.

What do the wheel, the printing press, the light bulb, and the smartphone have in common? Each began as a simple idea—and went on to change the course of human history. 100 Inventions That Changed the World takes readers on a fascinating journey through the breakthroughs that shaped civilization. From the earliest tools that helped humans survive to the advanced technologies that define modern life, this book reveals how creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving have driven progress for thousands of years. Inside, you’ll discover: How ancient inventions laid the foundations of society ...

What if history’s greatest inventions were never allowed to see the light of day? From engines that could run on water to medical devices that promised to revolutionize healthcare, the world has seen breakthroughs with the power to change everything—only to watch them vanish, suppressed by politics, corporate greed, or fear of the unknown. Few people know the hidden truth behind these disappearances… and the extraordinary lives of the inventors who dared to challenge the status quo. In Forbidden Technologies: The Untold Past of Silenced Inventors and Their Vanishing Breakthroughs, ...

Discover the Weird, the Wonderful, and the Downright Mind-Boggling! Did you know that the internet weighs about as much as a single strawberry? Or that it actually rains glass sideways on a gas giant planet 63 light-years away? 1,000 Weird But True Facts takes you on a journey through 40 themed chapters packed with 25 incredible facts each. This isn’t just a list of trivia; it’s a window into the fascinating science, history, and culture that shape our world. From the "beating heart" glacier on Pluto to the reason why birds are actually living dinosaurs, this collection is designed to ...