Men, Machines, and Modern Times, 50th Anniversary Edition

By: Elting E. Morison

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

This 50th anniversary edition of Men, Machines, and Modern Times, though ultimately concerned with a positive alternative to an Orwellian 1984, offers an entertaining series of historical accounts taken from the 19th century to highlight a main theme: the nature of technological change, the fission brought about in society by such change, and society's reaction to that change. Beginning with a remarkable illustration of resistance to innovation in the US Navy following an officer's discovery of a more accurate way to fire a gun at sea, Elting Morison goes on to narrate the strange history of the new model steamship, the Wapanoag, in the 1860s. He then continues with the difficulties confronting the introduction of the pasteurization process for milk; he traces the development of the Bessemer process; and finally he considers the computer. While the discussions are liberally sprinkled with amusing examples and anecdotes, all are related to the more profound and current problem of how to organize and manage system of ideas, energies, and machinery so that it will conform to the human dimension.

©2016 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P)2016 Gildan Media LLC

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Regardless of the passage of time the true inner elements that make us all human will speak to all generations forever.

What a masterwork

10/10 beautiful writing perfect length fantastic examples from history would recommend to anyone interested in history of innovation/ military