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Twin Tracks

The Unexpected Origins of the Modern World

By: James Burke

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Paperback | 1 December 2005

At a Glance

Paperback
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.8 x 15.6 x 1.8

Paperback

$44.75

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Twin Tracks is a landmark book of real-world stories that investigates the nature of change and divines as never before the unlikely origins of many aspects of contemporary life. In each of the work's twenty-five narratives, we discover how the different outcomes of an important historical event in the past often come together again in the future.
Each chapter starts with an event -- such as the U.S. attack on Tripoli in 1804 -- that generates two divergent series of consequences. After tracking each pathway as it ranges far and wide through time and space, Burke shows how the paths finally and unexpectedly converge in the modern world.
Twin Tracks pinpoints the myriad ways the future is shaped, whether by love, war, accident, genius, or discovery. For instance, in "The Marriage of Figaro to Stealth Fighter," Burke's twin tracks start with the composer of the opera and the French spy from whose play he stole the plot. The tracks then encompass, among other things, freemasonry, the War of Independence, Captain Cook, jellyfish, Jane Austen, and audio tape. Ultimately, the convergence of the two Figaro tracks sets the stage for the development of Gulf War Stealth aircraft.
Wonderfully accessible and lucidly written, Twin Tracks offers an amusing and instructive new view of the past and the future.

Industry Reviews

"Pyrotechnical enough to cause brain fever, but the author's sly hand elegantly unravels the knotty historical cloverleafs."

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Science Science in General History of Science History General & World History Popular Science

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Introduction
How to Read This Book
1804: Attack on Tripoli to Fish Sticks
1760: Fake Epic to Organ Transplants
1805: Battle of Trafalgar to Laser
1726: Encyclopedia to Vitamins
1792: Juniper Hall to Jet Aircraft
1750: Smallpox to Big Bang
1784: Sanskrit to Cybernetics
1610: Santa Catharina to Spectroscopy
1686: Political Jingle to Nylon
1703: Kit-Kat Club to Sunglasses
1770: Falklands War to Television
1724: Stone Age Boy to Photocopier
1745: Leyden Jar to Clingwrap
1790: Philadelphia General Advertiser to Chemotherapy
1664: Lens Grinder to Hairdressing
1773: Boston Tea Party to Contact Lenses
1742: Bow Street, London, to Bar Code
1739: The Grand Tour to Liquid Crystal Display
1795: Man in the Iron Mask to Hovercraft
1673: Siege of Maastricht to Vending Machines
1786: The Marriage of Figaro to Stealth Fighter
1780: Edinburgh Oyster Club to DNA
1770: Church Sermon to Helicopter
1771: Pottery to Neon Signs
1676: Theology to Skyscraper
Bibliography
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Twin Tracks

The Unexpected Origins of the Modern World

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

Other Editions and Formats

ePUB

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