Imagining Tomorrow: History, Technology, and the American Future

by Joseph J. Corn (editor)

Imagining Tomorrow takes a lively and informative look at the future as envisioned in the American past. Covering the period from the 1880s to the present, it examines the expectations that various groups of Americans held regarding the technology of tomorrow. The book contributes to our understanding of twentieth-century culture, technology and what may be called the history of the future.Six of the ten essays in the book probe the future imagined for particular inventions, such as the electric light, x-ray, radio, and computer. Two others explore the way architects and designers repackaged the traditional house and city into exciting and evocative images of the future. The remaining two essays focus respectively on the novels of 19th-century technological utopians and 1930s world's fairs, both popular forums for speculating about technology and the future.ContributorsPaul Ceruzzi, Steven L. Del Sesto, Susan J. Douglas, Brian Horrigan, Folke T. Kihlstedt, Nancy Knight, Carolyn Marvin, Jeffrey L. Meikle, Howard P. Segal, and Carol Willis

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Joseph J. Corn is a senior lecturer in the department of history at Stanford University.