Great Feuds in Technology

By: Hal Hellman

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eBook | 20 September 2013 | Edition Number 1

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If someone were to ask you who invented the miner’s safety lamp, you’d probably have no trouble answering “I don’t know.” But what about the telegraph? The automobile? The airplane? Television? Conflicting claims over the answers to these questions have led to some of the longest and most bitter battles in the history of technology. Great Feuds in Technology takes a close look at each of these celebrated disputes and reveals that the answers are far more complex entertaining, and enlightening than you might ever imagine.

In this book, you’ll discover how the use of new technologies sparked years of violence amoung the Luddites in nineteenth century England; why Thomas Edison lost the biggest battle of his career- which may explain whay we have regional blackouts today; and how one small, rude, and brilliant admiral flogged the United States Navy into creating first, nuclear submarines, and later an entire nuclear fleet. You’ll also learn the true story behind the race to map the human genome and meet the man who has spent most of his adult life fighting the commercial use of genetically modified organisms.

Complete with a thoughtful analysis of recent developments in the anti-technology movement and their impact on our social and technological future, Great Feuds in Technology offers lively, informative, and enlightening reading, whether you’re a technophile, a technophobe, a history and biography enthusiast, or just someone who enjoys a good fight.

There is nothing like a good feud to grab your attention. And when it comes to describing the battle, Hal Hellman is a master.
—New Scientist