Best History of Technology
On a winter day in 1903 on the remote Outer Banks of North Carolina two unknown brothers from Ohio changed history The age of flight had begun with the first heavier than air powered machine carrying a pilot Far more than a couple of Dayton bicycle mechanics who happened to hit on success Wilbur and Orville Wright were men of exceptional ability unyielding determination and far ranging intellectual interest and curiosity Two time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough tells the dramatic story of how these courageous brothers taught the world how to fly and how their devoted sister Katharine played a far more important role than has been generally understood Book jacket The 1 New York Times bestseller from David McCullough two time winner of the Pulitzer Prize the dramatic story behind the story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly Wilbur and Orville Wright On a winter day in 1903 in the Outer Banks of North Carolina two brothers bicycle mechanics from Dayton Ohio changed history But it would take the world some time to believe that the age of flight had begun with the first powered machine carrying a pilot Orville and Wilbur Wright were men of exceptional courage and determination and of far ranging intellectual interests and ceaseless curiosity When they worked together no problem seemed to be insurmountable Wilbur was unquestionably a genius Orville had such mechanical ingenuity as few had ever seen That they had no more than a public high school education and little money never stopped them in their mission to take to the air Nothing did not even the self evident reality that every time they took off they risked being killed In this enjoyable fast paced tale The Economist master historian David McCullough shows as never before how two Ohio boys from a remarkable family taught the world to fly The Washington Post and captures the marvel of what the Wrights accomplished The Wall Stree.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"David McCullough is one of the preeminent American historians of our times, the deft biographer of John Adams and Harry Truman, and in this book he brings his wonderful historical exposition and storytelling skills to the lives of the Wright brothers. If I have some minor reservations they are only in the lack of technical detail which could have informed descriptions of some of the Wrights' experiments and the slightly hagiographical tint that McCullough is known to bring to his subjects. Firstly McCullough who is quite certainly one of the best storytellers among all historians does a great job of giving us the details of the Wrights' upbringing and family. The Wrights' sister Katharine also played an integral part in their lives; they were very close to her and McCullough's account is filled with copious examples of the affectionate, sometimes scolding, always encouraging letters that the siblings wrote to each other. Lastly, McCullough does a fine job describing how the Wrights rose to world fame after their flight. McCullough's account of the Wright brothers, as warm and fast-paced as it is, was most interesting to me for the lessons it holds for the future. But perhaps what the Wright brothers' story exemplifies the most is the importance of simple traits like devotion to family, hard work, intense intellectual curiosity and most importantly, the frontier, can-do attitude that has defined the American dream since its inception."
"McCullough has written a serious and riveting review of the lives of Wilbur and Orville. FAMILY. McCullough makes it clear that the Wilbur and Orville were a product of their family environment. McCullough writes — “He was an unyielding abstainer, which was rare on the frontier, a man of rectitude and purpose— all of which could have served as a description of Milton himself and Wilbur and Orville as well.”. His strict values molded and focused the views of the three younger Wrights (Katherine, Wilbur, and Orville). I am sure that Orville and myself will do nothing that will disgrace the training we received from you and Mother.”. McCullough writes — “Years later, a friend told Orville that he and his brother would always stand as an example of how far Americans with no special advantages could advance in the world. the greatest thing in our favor was growing up in a family where there was always much encouragement to intellectual curiosity.’ ”. BUSINESS. McCullough records Wilbur’s thoughts on being in business in a letter to his brother Lorin in 1894: “In business it is the aggressive man, who continually has his eye on his own interest, who succeeds. … We ought not to have been businessmen.”. In 1911, Wilbur wrote: “When we think what we might have accomplished if we had been able to devote this time [fighting patent infringement suits] to experiments, we feel very sad, but it is always easier to deal with things than with men, and no one can direct his life entirely as he would choose.”. The Wrights never built, or even tried to build, an industrial empire as Ford or Edison or their Dayton neighbors John and Frank Patterson (National Cash Register) had done. Wilbur and Orville were superb engineers, though neither went beyond high school. For example, the wind tunnel had been invented thirty years before, but Wilbur and Orville developed it into a precise quantitative instrument. For example, McCullough writes — “In early 1889, while still in high school, Orville started his own print shop in the carriage shed behind the house, and apparently with no objections from the Bishop. To reinforce that point requires some expansion of that event or similar other defining events in the lives of Wilbur and Orville. One source of knowledge about the Wrights’ approach to aeronautics is the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton."
And when the mission is over―after the first view of the far side of the moon, the first earth-rise, and the first re-entry through the earth’s atmosphere following a flight to deep space―the impossible dream of walking on the moon suddenly seems within reach. Here is the tale of a mission that was both a calculated risk and a wild crapshoot, a stirring account of how three American heroes forever changed our view of the home planet. "Kluger, a science journalist, previously co-authored the best-selling book turned blockbuster film Apollo 13 , and his latest foray into space history overflows with similarly cinematic details . "― Scientific American "Kluger takes readers inside the capsule.... Every agonizing moment both prior to the mission and the mission itself unfolds in fascinating detail , and Kluger makes the reader more than just an observer while events transpire. Those familiar with the early history of NASA and the Apollo missions will love Apollo 8, and those who were born in later years will discover a full understanding of a tumultuous time and the fascinating people who helped make a dream a reality. ". "― Christian Science Monitor "Kluger has a knack for telling these stories of humans, machines and the cosmos in an engaging, cinematic manner.... Apollo 8 is a worthy addition to the space history catalog.... Kluger excels at recounting missions, seamlessly blending procedures with descriptions of what the astronauts saw and felt . "― Dallas Morning News "Relying on extensive interviews with all three NASA astronauts and former NASA officials, agency documents and the mission audio archive, the author paints an unforgettable picture of the dramatic, wildly successful lunar mission.... [Kluger] informs us in vivid, crisply written prose exactly how the United States recovered from its despairing doldrums and regained national pride.... "There is plenty of Apollo information and narrative out there for the interested reader, but it needs the discerning eye of a Kluger, who knows how to sift through it all to the essential detail and tell it. accessibly . “Drawing on historical transcripts and documents and his own extensive interviews with the leading players, Jeffrey Kluger paints a portrait of the U.S. space program and the first manned expedition to the moon so vivid that we feel ourselves riding in the hurtling rocket with the astronauts, taut with the thrill, the danger, and the cosmic meaning of the mission . Jeffrey Kluger colorfully captures the time, the people, and the mission of Apollo 8 with an entertaining and informative account of the stories of this historic adventure.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Time Magazine, whom Kluger works for, wrote in the January 3, 1969 issue (the one with the three Apollo 8 astronauts on the cover as Men of the Year) that "the one person most responsible for the flight was a Vienna-born engineer named George Low". Low was uniquely qualified having been the first Chief of Manned Space Flight, the chairman of the committee that provided the analysis that led to Kennedy's challenge to go to the moon, and the person who took over as the Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager after the Apollo 1 fire."
"One thing that surprised me (and in hindsight I feel I shouldn't have been surprised after all) is how the men who flew Apollo 8 - all military men - viewed this mission as another critical Cold War mission, and themselves as loyal soldiers who had been given a mission that was as important as any combat mission back on Earth. This book is very well-researched, and Kluger does a great job of telling the story of this amazing mission in a way that held my interest throughout the book."
"This book brings to life each key character in the development of the Apollo missions without going into too much detail, striking an effective balance of historical information and real human emotions at NASA, on the Apollo spacecraft, in the White House, among Navy brass requested to find and rescue the capsule in the sea, and many more. I also enjoyed greatly the juxtaposition of the US space program with the Soviet program as both sides worked to outdo each other in space. Because Apollo 8 was such a historic and trailblazing mission, being the first to leave the Earth's orbit and travel 230,000 miles to the moon and back, it is understandable that the author repeatedly wanted to impress upon readers just how trailblazing it was. What would the brave astronauts of Apollo 1 who perished on the launchpad think about the USA mothballing NASA's manned space flight programs? This book is an excellent reminder of what once made us great as a nation - the spirit of exploration, and hopefully this 50th anniversary of Apollo 8 will reawaken our curiosity about what is out there in space waiting for us to fly there and discover it."
"This is a great true story about the first flight that went to the moon - not landed on, but orbited the moon."
"While so much concentrates on the missions that landed on the moon, Apollo 8 was just as important, if not more so, as it had never been done."
"Read the book in three days slipping it between “to do’s.” Well written and loaded with information on the complexity of developing the Apollo capsule and of the hard science and mathematics in an analog world when the slide rule was still in use."
he #1 New York Times bestseller The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America's greatest achievements in space.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The book is as much about the advances and science done at NACA and NASA as it is about the black women who were an integral part of this piece of history."
"Many movie goers who only see the movie will miss out on a number of opportunities to see more realistically Aunt Katherine's nature, attitudes, and life's perspectives on work, family, and race."
"Sure, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, et al are amazing, inspiring, and strong, but their own modesty over their roles in NACA/NASA history is telling: like many black pioneers of the Jim Crow era, they didn't step up for the attention or accolades. The portions of the book that were the most fascinating to me were those pertaining to the links forged by the black community in the Southern Virginia area, and how they intersected with employment and residency in Hampton as the 20th century progressed."
"I had no idea that black women played such a key role in our space program. HIDDEN FIGURES tells the story of four determined black women, who overcame numerous obstacles, and worked in the space program at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (now known as "Langley Research Center."). To give the reader an idea of how difficult it was for a woman--much less an African-American woman--to actually become a mathematician, the author notes these statistics: "In the 1930s, just over a hundred women worked as professional mathematicians." The likelihood of a black woman actually becoming a mathematician working on the space program was about zero: "Employers openly discriminated against Irish and Jewish women with math degrees. It was unusual for a woman to even be acknowledged as co-author of a report: "The work of most of the women, like that of the computing machines they used, was anonymous."
"But this book dealt particularly well with how black society dealt with segregation and all the attendant hardships and how it fought against them."
Best Social Aspects of Technology
Over the past decade, Silicon Valley executives like Eric Schmidt and Elon Musk, Special Operators like the Navy SEALs and the Green Berets, and maverick scientists like Sasha Shulgin and Amy Cuddy have turned everything we thought we knew about high performance upside down. New York Times bestselling author Steven Kotler and high performance expert Jamie Wheal spent four years investigating the leading edges of this revolution—from the home of SEAL Team Six to the Googleplex, the Burning Man festival, Richard Branson’s Necker Island, Red Bull’s training center, Nike’s innovation team, and the United Nations’ Headquarters. “Meticulously researched and innovatively conceptualized, Stealing Fire is not just a bible for the second psychedelic revolution (drugs not required), but a manual to getting more: out of your body, your mind, and your happiness.” ( Neil Strauss, New York Times best-selling author of The Game ). “An electrifying, fast-paced journey into the deep potential of the human brain.” ( David Eagleman, Stanford University neuroscientist, bestselling author, presenter of PBS's The Brain ). Based on incredible stories and cutting edge data, it reveals how our brain and body can be optimized to its greatest potential.” ( Andrew Newberg, MD., director of research Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine and author of How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain ).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As an indie author, musician, daily meditator, and adventure racer, I have spent much of my life in pursuit of these states, seeking the experiences, performance, and insights detailed in this book -- I have long recognize the value of these states, and this book does a fantastic job of exploring why I have found them so valuable, and why they're worth continuing to pursue."
"We are at the forefront of big changes."
"Better than anything I've ever read, this book makes a logical case for the altering normal mental state - through a variety of ecstatic experiences - and leaves the reader to decide - it they wish - which pathways forward call them...."
"Absolutely invaluable!"
"I was so absorbed in this book and excited to be reading this material that I signed up and am nearly finished the Flow Fundamentals course."
"Wonderful complete book to help us all get into a new level of consciousness, goal setting, development in our lives."
"Expands on the FLOW State covered in "The Rise Of Superman" and ties together several other concepts."
"Yeah 5 stars."
Best Nanotechnology
Subject area has witnessed explosive growth during the last decade and the technology is progressing at an astronomical rate. Where as in their previous book entitled Microflows: Fundamentals and Simulation the authors covered scales from one hundred nanometers to microns (and beyond), in this new book they discuss length scales from angstroms to microns (and beyond). The text has been divided into three main subject categories: gas flows; liquid flows; and simulation techniques .The majority of the completely new developments in this book are in liquid flows and simulation techniques chapters with modified information throughout the rest of the book.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Being a well-written research monograph, this is that solid starting point for those who have a grasp of traditional fluid mechanics and want to enhance that understanding for research into MEMS devices and flows encountered at micron scale and below."
"When I got the first edition, I was always thinking that the addition of a few chapters on nanoscale fluid flows would make this book a comprehensive monograph for people who have background in conventional fluid mechanics and want to understand the micron and submicron fluid flows phenomena."
"This is an excellent book and I recommend this to any one interested in microfluidics, MEMS or nanotechnology."
"I recommend to buy this book if you really need to review the topics of electrokinetics."
Best Technology Safety & Health
The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. " Radium Girls spares us nothing of their suffering; though at times the foreshadowing reads more like a true-crime story, Moore is intent on making the reader viscerally understand the pain in which these young women were living, and through which they had to fight in order to get their problems recognized...The story of real women at the mercy of businesses who see them only as a potential risk to the bottom line is haunting precisely because of how little has changed; the glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still." "This timely book celebrates the strength of a group of women, whose determination to fight improved both labor laws and scientific knowledge of radium poisoning. Written in a highly readable, narrative style, Moore's chronicle of these inspirational women's lives is sure to provoke discussion-and outrage-in book groups." "Moore's well-researched narrative is written with clarity and a sympathetic voice that brings these figures and their struggles to life...a must-read for anyone interested in American and women's history, as well as topics of law, health, and industrial safety." "Like Da a Sobel's The Glass Universe and Margot Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures, Kate Moore's The Radium Girls tells the story of a cohort of women who made history by entering the workforce at the dawn of a new scientific era. Moore sheds new light on a dark chapter in American labor history; the " Radium Girls ," martyrs to an unholy alliance of commerce and science, live again in her telling" - Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life and Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In The Radium Girls Kate Moore tells the story of these young women, seemingly so fortunate, who were poisoned by the jobs they felt so lucky to have. After some of the women died and more became ill the companies making large profits on radium rushed to dismiss any hint that the work was unsafe. Eventually publicity stemming from lawsuits filed by some of the victims (using their own scanty resources) focused enough attention on the problem that governments felt compelled to set safety standards and regulations. The safety regulations and restrictions which were finally put into place hardly seem adequate, and the Epilogue and Postscript giving details of the women's later lives, as well as an account of another industry that made careless use of radium as late as the 1970s, are especially harrowing."
"This is one these books that will stay with you long after you finished reading it."
"One of the best books I have read in a long time!"
"The job paid above average wages to women, and even when it was realized that coworkers were developing horrible health problems, some women continued to work because their families needed money the job provided."
"I just got through reading Radium Girls based the the true story of the girls and women employed to paint watch dials in the early twentieth century with an exciting and new product, radium. Every girl wanted in on the work as it was good pay and radium was said to be good for your health."
"I thank these women for eventually shutting the US Radium Corp down. Never forget these strong women that finally shook a nation off its lazy, corrupt ass to FINALLY be a beacon for for justice and Fairplay towards the working (WO) man."