This text explains why western civilization is worth knowing about. Taking a topical approach and stressing social and cultural themes; it asks; “What is the West?†and incorporates significant discussions of peoples and civilizations outside the boundaries of the West. Written by a single author; who understands the needs of typical college students; Western Civilization; 3/e is accompanied by rich visual images; numerous textual excerpts; provocative special features; and timelines; charts and maps that make the narrative even more accessible.
#294921 in Books Cross; Gary S./ Szostak; Rick 2004-10-02Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .80 x 6.90l; 1.19 #File Name: 0131896431384 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Acceptable First Survey and Introduction to the FactsBy David MilliernThis book gets the job done. There are many ways in which this book bothers me; but I simply don't think there is; currently; a better; more appropriately written introductory book on the history of technology in America. Let me briefly say what is wrong or lacking in the book; and then I will discuss its merits.The first thing that agitates me to the core is that this book is written like a middle school or high school history book; and the formatting reflects this; too. I think most readers will open the book and instantly see what I mean. Now; I must mitigate that statement by saying that some people might find this quality attractive; because those books (exempli gratia; middle school and high school textbooks) are written to maximize organization and to induce comfort through familiarity. My more substantive agitation with the text is that it is not sufficiently philosophical and lacks some amount of depth in perspective of actual science. The former issue; I think; stems from the fact that there is a naiveté; when it comes overlooking the role of philosophy of science in understanding the history of science and technology. Of course; the book might be geared toward someone who has nil in the way of philosophy; so it is hard for me to critical press this point. On the second issue; that of lacking scientific perspective; again; the book's motivation is undoubtedly geared toward a crowd that lacks knowledge of science.What the book does well is supply the sociological contributing factors to the considerations of American history of science and technology. The insights regarding economic consideration; for instance; make the book valuable in ways that an history of science motivated by philosophy might not. All in all; the book is accessible to anyone; well organized; well written; and most ideas of stated as plainly as is possible.I would recommend this book to someone who doesn't need a survey of American history of science and technology to go into actualities as much as nicely package; approximately correct information. For those looking for a work of HPS (History and Philosophy of Science) scholarship should pass over this one; unless he or she is seeking additional sociological context and considerations; for which this book might serve such a purpose. The book doesn't exhaustively present things like social and political forces on the development of technology; but it does an okay job; especially for someone getting their first survey in the subject matter.Since this book doesn't yet have a see-inside function; I am including a table of contents:Table of Contents:Chapter 1: Working the Land in Preindustrial Europe and AmericaChapter 2: Craftsman in the Shop: European Traditions and American Changes in the Eighteenth CenturyChapter 3: Women and Work Before the FactoryChapter 4: Origins of IndustrializationChapter 5: The Birth of the FactoryChapter 6: Iron; Steam; and RailsChapter 7: Machines and Their Mass ProductionChapter 8: Machines on the Farm and in the Forest; 1800-1950Chapter 9: Americans Confront the Mechanical World; 1780-1900Chapter 10: The Second Industrial RevolutionChapter 11: Technology and the Modern CorporationChapter 12: Technology and War; 1770-1918Chapter 13: The Impact of Technology on Women's WorkChapter 14: The New FactoryChapter 15: Innovation; the Great Depression; and the Automobile; 1918-40Chapter 16: Mechanizing Sight and SoundChapter 17: Technology and the Origins of Mass CultureChapter 18: Airplanes and Atoms in Peace and WarChapter 19: The Postwar Advance of TechnologyChapter 20: Our Computer AgeChapter 21: Modern Americans in a Technological World0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good; but could be betterBy LundrThe book has a rather narrow definition of technology and while the focus is on American society; it should be put in a wider perspective with the rest of the world to increase student understanding. The lack of historical perspective on a lot of these technologies and absence of coverage for technologies of the mind and human development is a severe detriment (change in education systems; production and modification of universities; the rise of technical schools; the change in the military 'production' of soldiers...)0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Lol good book with useful informationBy BigTGot this for school so I guess it was used for its purpose ! Lol good book with useful information !! rental program was amazing !!
