The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2000 Years Book

What's the greatest human invention of the last two millennia? The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years grew out of a Web-site project called Edge (www.edge.org), wherein the invited intelligentsia recorded their deep thoughts on a variety of topics. In 1998, editor John Brockman asked them to choose the creation that most shaped our world since year one. For this book, Brockman picked 100 of the most compelling entries from intellectual celebrities like Stewart Brand, Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and Murray Gell-Mann. The printing press received a number of votes, as did the computer and television. Other entries were more eclectic: organised science, the contraceptive pill, the gun or even hay. Chairs and stairs; anaesthesia; cities. Each invention is justified by a short essay, some of which read like ... well, Web-site prose. Also, a glaring sexism flaws the book--Brockman chose fewer than 10 women's submissions. Nevertheless, Greatest Inventions is a worthy addition to your millennial reading list and lots of fun besides. --Therese LittletonRead More