Posted 14 November 2005  

American Technology by Carroll Pursell comprises ten thematic sections and examines the social history of technology in America from the eighteenth century up until the present day. In collaboration with other social historians – Judith McGaw, Theodore Steinberg, Arthur McEvoy, Rachel Maines, Bruce Sinclair, Kristine Kleinegger, Michael Smith, Venus Green and Andrew Ross – Pursell has succeeded in putting together a thorough, compact and highly accessible book. Teachers who are designing A Level or Access survey courses on American History and American Studies, as well as university and college lecturers who are working in the same area of research, will find that this book nicely complements the primary textbooks and reading material assigned to their students. In particular, the present study approaches technology from a variety of perspectives: cultural, social and political. Each chapter contains a chronological table, an introduction by the editor, an essay by one of the contributing authors, supporting primary documents and further reading lists. Also, the narrative is embellished by statistical data, newspaper clippings and illustrations.     

Throughout the book, emphasis is placed on an array of themes: technological determinism, the machine, the workplace as an ecological system, technology and gender, the culture of engineers, the consumer acceptance of certain technological innovations (nuclear energy), technology and race as well as technoliteracy. In each section, every contributing author highlights his or her analysis with dates, figures and examples as well as references to a range of literary, sociological, scientific and periodical sources. In addition, every writer’s comments and critical evaluations are supplemented by a series of judicial, accounting, journalistic, medical, technical, epistolary and legislative documents. Having combined in the same volume information that is only published in specialized journals with cutting-edge scholarship, Pursell has managed to produce a book whose interdisciplinary character helps students appreciate the complexity as well as richness of the theme which is to be considered in each section.

With the examination of past as well as current technological practices, Pursell’s aim has been to influence the way American history and culture students approach and understand technological progress and development. This well-organized and clearly-written book puts students in the place of a historian by encouraging them to compare and contrast sources, examine the material in-depth as well as gain an insight in the predominant role that technology has played within the American social context. nbsp;

Buy this book now from Amazon