Great feuds in technology : ten of the liveliest disputes / Hal Hellman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hellman, Hal, 1927-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Technology--History--Miscellanea.

Technology.

History.

Genre:

Trivia and miscellanea.

Physical Description:

viii, 248 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Hoboken : Wiley, [2004]

Summary:

If someone were to ask you who invented the miner's safety lamp, you'd probably have no trouble answering "I don't know." But what about the telegraph? The automobile? The airplane? Television? Conflicting claims over the answers to these questions have led to some of the longest and most bitter battles in the history of technology. Great Feuds in Technology takes a close look at each of these celebrated disputes and reveals that the answers are far more complex, entertaining, and enlightening than you might ever imagine. In this book, you'll discover how the use of new technologies sparked years of violence among the Luddites in nineteenth-century England; why Thomas Edison lost the biggest battle of his career -- which may explain why we have regional blackouts today; and how one small, rude, and brilliant admiral flogged the United States Navy into creating, first, nuclear submarines, and later an entire nuclear fleet. You'll also learn the true story behind the race to map the human genome and meet the man who has spent most of his adult life fighting the commercial use of genetically modified organisms.

Great Feuds in Technology features lively accounts of unusual personalities and their heated battles, as well as wonderfully clear descriptions of the technologies in question, how they were developed, and how they changed the world. These lively, informative, and fair-minded accounts also reveal how these disputes have shaped the way technology is used, how patents are granted and administered, and how new technologies have affected the economy, work and social life, politics, and more. Complete with a thoughtful analysis of recent developments in the anti-technology movement and their impact on our social and technological future, Great Feuds in Technology offers lively, informative, and enlightening reading, whether you're a technophile, a technophobe, a history and biography enthusiast, or just someone who enjoys a good fight.

Contents:

1 Ned Ludd versus the Industrial Revolution: Are Machines the Problem? 5

2 Davy versus Stephenson: Who Invented the Miner's Safety Lamp? 19

3 Morse versus Jackson and Henry: The Electromagnetic Telegraph 39

4 Edison versus Westinghouse: The AC/DC War 59

5 Ford versus Selden and ALAM: Automobile Manufacturing 77

6 Wright Brothers versus Curtiss, Chanute, Ader, Whitehead, and Others: The First Successful Flying Machine 97

7 Sarnoff versus Farnsworth: The Fathers of Television 119

8 Rickover versus Zumwalt (and Just about Everyone Else): Nuclear Submarines and a Nuclear Navy 139

9 Venter versus Collins: Decoding the Human Genome 155

10 Rifkin versus the Monsanto Company: Battling the Biotech World 173.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0471208671

OCLC:

53155516