The History of Science and Technology: A Browser's Guide to the Great Discoveries, Inventions, and the People Who Made Them from the Dawn of Time to T

This book originally retailed for $40. I ordered it for less than $10 (plus shipping!) I'm very pleased with this order as it's a great reference book that I'm sure I will use over and over again.

Large impressive book with no obvious errors noticed on perusal. Better than expected and recommended.

The editorial review pretty much says it all. 720 pages of data (with another 55 pages of index to make things even easier to find) makes for a very fat and heavy book. On the other hand, it takes quite a bit of space to pack in all the significant achievements in science and technology during the past 2,600,000 years. Ten blocks of time are each introduced with an overview that summarizes the achievements during that period and places them in perspective. Following these essays, the chapters are filled with brief comments along a timeline about developments in twenty areas ranging from anthropology and astronomy to tools and transportation. It's claimed that there are more than 7,000 of these vignettes, so it's obvious that the coverage on any one is less than exhaustive. However, there are four columns to a page, so there's ample room for more than a quick mention. Beginning with the Medieval Era, the timeline condenses into an almost year by year examination. By the 18th century, each year is given substantial space. Along with all this, there are more than 200 thumbnail biographies of noted scientists and inventors and almost 200 half or full page essays on topics of particular interest or significance such as early surgery, the history of pepper, group theory, and the development of radio. Best of all, everything is explained with a simplicity that will please any interested lay person and an up-to-the-minute authority that will satisfy the experts. It will not give the reader any in-depth understanding of science or technology, and the bibliography is disappointingly limited. However, for pleasure browsing and interest piquing, this is a terrific value.