Technology In America: A Brief History

by Alan I. Marcus, Howard P. Segal

This brief history of technology in America begins with the colonial period but emphasizes the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The authors break new ground by concentrating on the impact of American society and culture on technology, instead of taking the traditional approach (considering the impact of technology on culture). The organization of the text reflects this perspective by following conventional American history periodization rather than a more limited industry-oriented outline (pre-industrial, industrial, and postindustrial). Part Two employs systems and systemization as a theme. The final section of the text (post-1950) has been completely rewritten to reflect recent scholarship and technological advances.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology, American History

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Chase Pheifer]

I read this for my History of Science and Tech class. It was pretty dry, and it was hard to follow a cohesive argument throughout. It felt like a hodgepodge of technological anecdotes in semi-chronological order with a couple points made through the stories. I read the preface and chp. 3 (p. 63-87 only), 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (p. 263-279, 293-295), and 11.

[Me · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was used as the textbook in a graduate course in the History of Technology. Surprisingly, it was not dull. Technology is a term used to mean many, many items that the typical reader does not equate with the term. For example, any tool is technology including the pencil, any process, etc.