A hidden history of the twentieth century's brilliant innovations--as
seen through art and images of electronics that fed the dreams of
millions.
A rich historical account of electronic technology in the twentieth
century, Inside the Machine journeys from the very origins of
electronics, vacuum tubes, through the invention of cathode-ray tubes
and transistors to the bold frontier of digital computing in the 1960s.
But, as cultural historian Megan Prelinger explores here, the history of
electronics in the twentieth century is not only a history of scientific
discoveries carried out in laboratories across America. It is also a
story shaped by a generation of artists, designers, and creative
thinkers who gave imaginative form to the most elusive matter of all:
electrons and their revolutionary powers.
As inventors learned to channel the flow of electrons, starting
revolutions in automation, bionics, and cybernetics, generations of
commercial artists moved through the traditions of Futurism, Bauhaus,
modernism, and conceptual art, finding ways to link art and technology
as never before.
A visual tour of this dynamic era, Inside the Machine traces advances
and practical revolutions in automation, bionics, computer language, and
even cybernetics. Nestled alongside are surprising glimpses into the
inner workings of corporations that shaped the modern world: AT&T,
General Electric, Lockheed Martin.
While electronics may have indelibly changed our age, Inside the
Machine reveals a little-known explosion of creativity in the history
of electronics and the minds behind it.
