The Timetables of Technology: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in the History of Technology by Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans

Abstract

TECHNOLOGYAND CULTURE Book Reviews 889 matter (a fleeting reference to the “imperialist” mission of the Beagle hardly counts). Against the global forces at work in, for instance, the robotics or biotechnology industries, his conclusion that “humans may opt” to become more mechanical or “they may decide not to” seems very inadequate. Second, Mazlish acknowledges that he is “hovering at the periphery of the philosophical issues” (p. 192), but defensive maneuvers of this sort do not compensate for the lack of really close analyses of the theories and theorists he has selected. The dustjacket promises intel­ lectual history “in the grand tradition,” and that is pretty much what we get. The more venturesome positions in this debate—Donna Haraway’s “cyborgs,” Manuel De Landa’s “robot historian,” the elaborate histori­ cal reconstructions ofJean-Claude Beaune, critical trends in the histo­ riography of science and of technology—receive no attention. Although Mazlish concedes that his principle of selection is “neither systematic nor truly ecumenical” (p. 199), one cannot help but wonder how Star Wars and Robocop find their way into the narrative, but not Heidegger or the Frankfurt School. Having stated these reservations, it must be said in conclusion that Mazlish has embarked on an ambitious quest: nothing less than the ways in which human nature has been defined and delimited in relation to animals on the one hand and machines on the other. Its boldness may in itself be its strongest virtue. Barry M. Katz Dr. Katz teaches in the School ofArchitecture and Design at the California College of Arts and Crafts and is visiting scholar in Science, Technology, and Society at Stanford University. His most recent book is Ideas and Engineering: The Work ofthe Hand in the Life of the Mind (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, in press). The Timetables of Technology: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in the History of Technology. By Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. Pp. v+490; indexes. $35.00. The range of this volume is truly breathtaking. It begins with the earliest recorded efforts of the genus Homo to build and use tools in a reasoned way, over two million years ago. It documents the innovations of the ancient civilizations, covers the outpourings of the Industrial Revolution, and surveys all of the important inventions associated with the introduction of electricity. It then concludes with a review of key developments in artificial intelligence, fiber optics, genetic engineering, and other late-20th-century technologies. Timetables is divided into seven chronological periods: Stone Ages (2,400,000-4000 b.c.), Metal Ages (4000 b.c.-IOOO a.d.), Age of Water and Wind (1000-1732), Industrial Revolution (1733-1878), Electric 890 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGYAND CULTURE Age (1879-1946), Electronic Age (1947-1972), and Information Age (1973-1993). Each section begins with an orienting essay describing the major trends and developments of the period. This is followed by a tabular format, with the time line running down the pages and categoric headings such as communication, energy, food, and agriculture ranging across the tops of facing pages. The tabular entries are short (fifty- to seventy-five-word) descriptions of a specific discovery, invention, or other technical development. Names and dates are given when known, and a cross-referencing system is used to refer to other entries on the same topic. Interspersed among the tabular entries are longer “sidebar” discussions of particularly important technological issues of each period. A name and subject index lists all of the persons and inventions cited in the introductory and “sidebar” essays as well as the five thousand plus tabular entries in Timetables. Citations in the essays are given by page number, but those in the tables use a code referring to the categoric heading and year. Timetables is basically a record of invention and inventors. Its essays offer some insights into the organization and applications of invention, but its tabular entries (over 85 percent of the book) are almost exclusively a record of who invented what, when, and where. In the Industrial Revolution section, for example, there are over three dozen entries on the basic inventions associated with the development of railroads (steam engine, air...