A History of the Future

Höfundur: Peter J. Bowler (Útgáfa: 0)
A History of the Future

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In this wide-ranging survey, Peter J. Bowler explores the phenomenon of futurology: predictions about the future development and impact of science and technology on society and culture in the twentieth century. Utilising science fiction, popular science literature and the novels of the literary elite, Bowler highlights contested responses to the potential for revolutionary social change brought about by real and imagined scientific innovations.

Charting the effect of social and military developments on attitudes towards innovation in Europe and America, Bowler shows how conflict between the enthusiasm of technocrats and the pessimism of their critics was presented to the public in books, magazines and exhibitions, and on the radio and television. A series of case studies reveals the impact of technologies such as radio, aviation, space exploration and genetics, exploring rivalries between innovators and the often unexpected outcome of their efforts to produce mechanisms and machines that could change the world.

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Útgefandi
Cambridge University Press
ISBN
9781108547543
Print ISBN
9781107148734
Format
ePub
Útgáfa
0
Höfundar
Peter J. Bowler
Tungumál
English
Útgefið
2017-11-02
Prent takmörkun á líftíma
10

Kaflar

  • Cover
  • Half title
  • Title page
  • Imprints page
  • Contents
  • Plates
  • Figures
  • Preface
  • 1 Introduction
  • Science Fact and Science Fiction
  • Two Cultures?
  • Historians and the Idea of Progress
  • Getting It Right?
  • 2 The Prophets
  • The Shape of Things to Come
  • Literary Dystopias
  • The Future War Novels
  • The Rise of Science Fiction
  • Popularizing Scientific Progress
  • Expert Visions of the Future
  • The Post-War World
  • 3 How We’ll Live
  • Drudgery or Unlimited Leisure?
  • Electrifying the Ideal Home
  • A Synthetic World
  • What We’ll Eat
  • Women’s Work?
  • 4 Where We’ll Live
  • Building for the Future
  • The Rise and Fall of Megalopolis
  • From Suburbia to the Garden City
  • The Streamlined City
  • 5 Communicating and Computing
  • Moving Pictures
  • Radio Wonders
  • Broadcasting
  • Television
  • Computers
  • 6 Getting Around
  • Motoring
  • Moving Ways
  • Rescuing the Railways
  • Monorails
  • Tunnels
  • Shipping
  • 7 Taking to the Air
  • The Visionaries
  • Girdling the Earth
  • Flying Boats or Airships?
  • The Anti-Aviation Lobby
  • Personal Flying
  • The Jet Age
  • 8 Journey into Space
  • The Rocket Pioneers
  • Space Operas
  • The Race to the Moon
  • 9 War
  • Mechanized Warfare
  • The Demise of the Battleship
  • The Threat of the Bomber
  • Gas and Germs
  • Death Rays
  • The Atomic Bomb
  • 10 Energy and Environment
  • The Crisis of Resources
  • The Search for Renewable Energy
  • Nuclear Power
  • Changing the World
  • Controlling Life
  • The Science of Balance?
  • 11 Human Nature
  • The Conquest of Disease
  • The Elixir of Life
  • The Decline of the Family
  • All in the Mind
  • Breeding
  • 12 Epilogue
  • Notes
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 The Prophets
  • 3 How We’ll Live
  • 4 Where We’ll Live
  • 5 Communicating and Computing
  • 6 Getting Around
  • 7 Taking to the Air
  • 8 Journey into Space
  • 9 War
  • 10 Energy and Environment
  • 11 Human Nature
  • 12 Epilogue
  • Bibliography
  • Index