The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans
Bill Hammack reveals the hidden logic behind human progress in this exploration of the engineering method. While most people credit scientific discovery for our modern world, Hammack demonstrates that creators often build things before fully understanding the underlying physics. By analyzing objects ranging from ancient cathedrals to contemporary soda cans, he shows how a specific set of rules an…
Shelves
More like this
Energy and Civilization: A History
A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel-…
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
"Diamond has written a book of remarkable scope ... one of the most important and readable works on the human past published in recent years."…
In the Beginning...Was the Command Line
This is "the Word" -- one man's word, certainly -- about the art (and artifice) of the state of our computer-centric existence. And considering th…
Masterminds of Programming: Conversations with the Creators of Major Programming Languages
Masterminds of Programming features exclusive interviews with the creators of several historic and highly influential programming languages. In th…
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
James Gleick, the author of the best sellers Chaos and Genius, now brings us a work just as astonishing and masterly: a revelatory chronicle and m…
Behemoth: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World
Joshua B. Freeman traces the rise and evolution of the giant factory, an institution that redefined human civilization. From the water-powered tex…
Turing's Vision: The Birth of Computer Science
In 1936, when he was just twenty-four years old, Alan Turing wrote a remarkable paper in which he outlined the theory of computation, laying out t…
The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders and Deceivers
Hacker extraordinaire Kevin Mitnick delivers the explosive encore to his bestselling The Art of Deception Kevin Mitnick, the world's most celebrat…
Quantum Computing Since Democritus
Written by noted quantum computing theorist Scott Aaronson, this book takes readers on a tour through some of the deepest ideas of maths, computer…
Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. Th…
The Cathedral & the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary
Open source provides the competitive advantage in the Internet Age. According to the August Forrester Report, 56 percent of IT managers interviewe…
In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
Written with full cooperation from top management, including cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, this is the inside story behind Google, the mo…