The new edition of a milestone work on the global history of
technology.
This milestone history of technology, first published in 1990 and now
revised and expanded in light of recent research, broke new ground by
taking a global view, avoiding the conventional Eurocentric perspective
and placing the development of technology squarely in the context of a
world civilization. Case studies include technological dialogues between
China and West Asia in the eleventh century, medieval African states and
the Islamic world, and the United States and Japan post-1950. It
examines railway empires through the examples of Russia and Japan and
explores current synergies of innovation in energy supply and smartphone
technology through African cases.
The book uses the term technological dialogue to challenges the top-down
concept of technology transfer, showing instead that technologies are
typically modified to fit local needs and conditions, often triggering
further innovation. The authors trace these encounters and exchanges
over a thousand years, examining changes in such technologies as
agriculture, firearms, printing, electricity, and railroads. A new
chapter brings the narrative into the twenty-first century, discussing
technological developments including petrochemicals, aerospace, and
digitalization from often unexpected global viewpoints and asking what
new kind of industrial revolution is needed to meet the challenges of
the Anthropocene.