Great Feuds in Technology: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever

by Hal Hellman

The colorful true stories of ten monumental feuds in the history of technology
The history of technology is full of heated disputes over who, exactly, invented what. In this encore to his international bestsellers Great Feuds in Science and Great Feuds in Medicine, Hal Hellman brings to life ten of technology's most celebrated quarrels. Whether illuminating the battles between Philo Farnsworth and RCA (television), and Samuel Morse and Joseph Henry (telegraph) or the feuds currently raging over nuclear submarines and genetically modified foods, Hellman clearly explains the technology involved while providing vivid portraits of the disputants and their times. Hal Hellman (Leonia, NJ) is the author of numerous science books, including Great Feuds in Science (0-471-35066-4) and Great Feuds in Medicine (0-471-20833-7).

Genres: History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 9, 2004

Reviews

[dejah_thoris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book on ten technological feuds. Unlike many in the series, most of the chapters are direct feuds, not just one man against the dominant opinion. Unfortunately, this book starts in the early 20th century, so I found its definition of technology limiting, but the conflicts were all very interesting, and the introduction acknowledges how difficult it was to select them. My favorite was the real story of Henry Ford and his patent battle against Selden and ALAM to break into the automobile market though the history of television was neat too.

[Guy Cranswick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good background on technologies and personal battles

[Frederick Bingham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about scientific feuds. Newton-Leibniz, Galileo-Pope, Darwin, Margaret Mead, etc. I read most of it, but it never really grabbed me and caught my attention.