This is one of those rare books which is as entertaining as it is informative. Van Dulken selects and discusses "100 inventions that shaped the world", organizing his material within ten chapters to correspond with the ten decades of the 20th century: 1900-1910 (e.g. aeroplane, air conditioning, and the vacuum cleaner) 1910-1919 (e.g. Formica, neon lighting, and the self-service supermarket 1920-1929 (e.g. the bread slicing machine, power steering, and television 1930-1939 (e.g. the jet engine, the photocopier, and radar 1940-1949 (e.g. the ballpoint pen, the computer, and the transistor 1950-1959 (e.g. the geodesic dome, the microchip, and Velcro fasteners) 1960-1969 (e.g. implantable pacemaker, the mouse, and the Workmate workbench) 1970-1979 (e.g. the artificial heart, Post-it notes, and the smart card) 1980-1989 (e.g. cellular phones, genetic fingerprinting, and the video game) 1990-1999 (e.g. cloning animals, fuel cells, and programmable materials) Van Dulken discusses ten different inventions in each of the ten chapters, providing detailed descriptions as well as explanations of the historical context in which each was devised and by whom. In the Introduction by Andrew Phillips, the reader is told that the inventions highlighted in this book "have benefitted people of virtually every nation. Some have helped combat the despair of disease, poverty, excessive (even unendurable) labour. Other inventions -- though less illustrated by this book --have contributed to the ravages of war. What comes forth so often, however, from the examples described here is the individuality and initiative which characterizes so many inventors who helped change the world between 1900 and 1999." Quite true. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Mokyr's The Lever of Riches and Novak's The Fire of Invention.

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