by Stephen Van Dulken (2000)
Imagine your average day without zippers, airplanes, vacuum cleaners, without your personal stereo, without photocopiers. All of these devices were invented within the last hundred years and have since transformed our daily landscape. Drawing on the British Library's vast and comprehensive collection of patents, this handsomely illustrated book recounts the history of one hundred of the most significant inventions of the century, decade by decade. Many of these inventions changed the world, others radically changed our daily lives. By combining a brief history of each patent with a copy of the original -- and often entertaining -- patent application (the zipper is a "hookless fastener," the Post-It note an "inherently tacky, elastomeric polymer"), Inventing the 20th Century reveals the ways in which many of the most basic aspects of our material existence -- our clothes (nylon, Velcro), our leisure (Monopoly, Scrabble), our homes (Tupperware, teflon) -- have been revolutionized through specific objects. From the photocopier to the Slinky, from genetic fingerprinting to the Lava Lamp, from the ballpoint pen to the fuel cell, Inventing the 20th Century is an informative, illuminating window onto the technology of the twentieth century. - Jacket flap.
Paul Lunde
Provides an overview of organized crime and examines the characteristics, resources, strategies, and history of the criminal underworld from a social, political, and economic context, as well as the efforts of law enforcement.
Phil Patton
Trace the evolution of objects, products and related ideas in American ; things such as bridges, land yachts, the Pullman parlor car, Airstream trailor, selectric tylpewriter, Model T, DC-3, self-service, the jukebox, Lee jeans and many others.
Richard Carlin
Explores the roots and history of jazz, discussing how it first appeared and developed, its musical elements, and significant performers.
MARHO, the radical historians organization
"Interviews with E.P. Thompson, Eric Hobsbawm, Sheila Rowbotham, Linda Gordon, Natalie Zemon Davis, William Appleman Williams, Staughton Lynd, David Montgomery, Herbert Gutman, Vincent Harding, John Womack, C.L.R. James, Moshe Lewin." Includes bibliographies and index.