A History of Invention. From Stone Age Axes to Silicon Chips.

The history of invention is the history of civilization. The very great names we use to describe the great epochs of the past - the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age - tell us that invention is the essence of civilization. Today, we stand on the shoulders of a thousand generations of inventors. This book is their story. From the first crude stone axe heads to the latest advances in communication technology, A HISTORY OF INVENTION tells how each technological innovation met a critical need while creating the demand and the opportunity for the next breakthrough. Literally thousands of inventions are chronicled, explained and placed in their historical, cultural and scientific context in this vivid and comprehensive account of the epic march of technology.

Trevor I Williams was a scientific writer and historian. He was the author of 25 books including biographies of Alfred Bernhard Nobel, Howard Florey and the chemist Robert Robinson. He died in 1996.