American Technology

This comprehensive introductory reference covers the key figures and events that have shaped the technological development of the United States from its founding to the present. From the Industrial Revolution to the Digital Age, American inventors and entrepreneurs have been at the forefront of technologies that transformed life here and around the world. Manufacturing and mechanized farming, the telegraph and telephones, energy production and household appliances, cars and computers, movies and television, airplanes and spacecraft - all of these and more either originated in the United States or took major steps forward here. "American Technology: Inventors, Invention, and Impact" is a comprehensive introduction to the work of American innovators and their impact on technological development in the United States and the world. Focusing primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries, it reveals just how much American ingenuity has changed the lives of people both in the United States and all over the globe in the last two centuries. In two authoritative volumes, the encyclopedia offers nearly 150 alphabetically organized entries on key individuals, events, and inventions, highlighting the work of the famous and less well-known. In addition, a thematic essay section discusses topics such as art and technology, the military-industrial complex, and unionization of labor. Throughout, the expert contributors continually emphasize the influence of American technology on both day-to-day life and defining historical moments in the United States and abroad. Either as a source of easy-to-find information or as a starting point for more in-depth study, "American Technology" is a major step forward on a subject that affects and intrigues many. This title features nearly 150 entries on specific innovations, individuals, and events relevant to the progress of technological innovation in the United States over the past two centuries. It includes thematic essays on the impact of American technology on society. It features 37 illustrated sidebar entries on high-interest topics. It is written by expert contributors from a wide range of disciplines, offering the latest insights into specific technologies in the context of American history and society. It provides an extensive bibliography of print and online resources, helping readers follow their interest in a topic to more specific sources. This title measures just how much American innovators have contributed to technologies that changed life in the United States and around the world over the past two centuries. It makes a wealth of information on American technologies available to nonspecialist readers in an authoritative yet accessible way. It shows how technological changes in the United States both impacted - and were impacted by - the times in which they emerged. It includes coverage from the 21st century, including the latest breakthroughs in digital media and communication.

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