Twin Tracks

The Unexpected Origins of the Modern World

By: James Burke

Write A Review

Paperback | 1 February 2007

At a Glance

Paperback
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.8 x 15.6 x 1.8

Paperback

$44.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $11.19 with

or

Ships in 10 to 15 business days

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."

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $49.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

18%
OFF

The Hidden War

Australian Tunnellers and the Fight for the Western Front

Paperback

RRP $36.99

$29.75

20%
OFF

The Voynich Manuscript

Hardcover

RRP $82.95

$60.75

27%
OFF

The History of the Ancient World

From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome

Hardcover

RRP $57.95

$38.75

33%
OFF

The Anarchy

The Relentless Rise of the East India Company

Paperback

RRP $26.99

$22.99

15%
OFF

Midnight in Chernobyl

The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

Paperback

RRP $26.99

$22.99

15%
OFF

Stay Alive

Berlin, 1939-1945

Hardcover

RRP $55.00

$42.75

22%
OFF

Lessons of History

Paperback

RRP $32.99

$19.75

40%
OFF

The Master and His Emissary

The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World

Paperback

RRP $36.95

$29.75

19%
OFF

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

More in General & World History

A Kingdom and a Village

A One-Thousand-Year History of Moscow

Talking Classics

The Shock of the Old

Entitled

The Rise and Fall of the House of York

I, Vera

The Many Lives of Vera Gedroits, a Radical Princess

At Dawn They Landed

The 11th Battalion from Gallipoli to the Armistice (1915-1918)

The First Anzacs

The incredible untold stories of Aussie and Kiwi combat engineers in WWI

The Hidden War

Australian Tunnellers and the Fight for the Western Front

The Voynich Manuscript

The History of the Ancient World

From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome

The Anarchy

The Relentless Rise of the East India Company

Midnight in Chernobyl

The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

The Happiest Man on Earth

Battle of the Arctic

The Maritime Epic of World War Two

The Achilles Trap

Saddam Hussein, the United States and the Middle East, 1979-2003

The Butterfly Thief

adventure, empire, and Australia's greatest museum heist

Goliath's Curse

The History and Future of Societal Collapse

The Man Who Stopped the Sultan

Gabriele Tadino and the Defence of Europe

Revolusi

Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World

Rasputin

And the Downfall of the Romanovs

The Coming Storm

Power, Conflict and Warnings from History

Tambora

The Eruption That Changed the World

Stay Alive

Berlin, 1939-1945

Lessons of History

The Master and His Emissary

The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World

This product is categorised by