Ronald Clark

Works of Man (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Works of Man is a chronicle of man's attempts from prehistoric times to the space age to exploit for his own purposes the slowly discerned laws of nature. Exciting, instructive, and eminently readable, this mine of information covers the broad sweep of technological achievements, from the invention of the wheel more than six millennia ago to the miniaturization of the electronic computer.

Beginning with a description of the early builders in the days of ancient Babylon, continuing through to the end of the Roman Empire, the author goes on to explain the engineering principles that were gradually developed in the Dark Ages, enabling men to build the medieval cathedrals; to try to drain the Pontine marshes near Rome, the meres of Holland, and the British fenlands; and to raise the new military defenses that transformed warfare. Discussion of the work of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo leads on to the development of steam as a new source of power, and to the growth of civil engineering that followed in Europe and the rest of the world. Further chapters cover the change from sail to steam; canals; railways; the use of electricity; the growth of manned flight; the rise of the plastics industry; nuclear engineering; and the problems of space exploration.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK eBooks
• Seitenzahl: 352
• Erscheinungstermin: 28. Oktober 2011
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781448206216
• Artikelnr.: 38311793

Autorenporträt

Ronald Clark was born in London in 1916 and educated at King's College School. In 1933 he chose journalism as a career; during the Second World War, after being turned down for military duty on medical grounds, he served as a war correspondent. During this time Clark landed on Juno Beach with the Canadians on D-Day and followed the war until its end, then remained in Germany to report on the major War Crimes trials.

Clark returned to Britain in 1948 and wrote extensively on subjects ranging from mountain climbing to the atomic bomb, Balmoral Castle to world explorers. He also wrote a number of biographies on a myriad of figures, such as Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Sigmund Freud, and Bertrand Russell. Clark died in 1987.

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction Big Buildings of the Ancient World Ending 'By Guess and By
God' The Coming of Steam Engineering Artificial Waterways The Coming of the
Iron Horse New Metals and Better Bridges Engines on the Oceans Man Makes
Materials A New Source of Power Men with Wings Burrowing Through and
Building Up The Rise of the Number-Crunchers Towards the Ultimate Power
Into Space Futures Bibliography