Ancient Inventions - Hardcover

Peter James; Nick Thorpe

4.16

282 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0345364767 ISBN 13: 9780345364760

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 1994

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From Greek steam engines to Roman fire engines . . . Aztec chewing gum to Etruscan false teeth . . . earthquake detectors in China to electric batteries in Iraq . . . stone-age brain surgery to middle-age hand grenades . . . here's a lively and fascinating look at the genuine wonders of the past.

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From Library Journal:

You leave your seventh-floor apartment, curse the congested traffic that delays you, and stop at a fast-food restaurant on your way to have cataract surgery. You live in Rome in A.D. 25. Ancient Inventions entertainingly demonstrates that there is indeed little new under the sun. The book is divided by the authors (Centuries of Darkness, LJ 3/15/93) into convenient, browsable sections such as "Sex Life," "Military Technology," and "Communications," each one presenting fascinating evidence of the extent to which human knowledge can be extinguished. Cute rather than hilarious in its humor, Ancient Inventions is thoroughly researched and profusely illustrated; it is doubtful that anyone could examine it without coming away enlightened in one of its broadly ranging areas. This work will be used as much for its historical information and accounts of ancient daily life as it will be for recreational reading. Historical First Patents is an overview of over 80 granted U.S. patent applications, with emphasis on the familiar: Howe, Whitney, Bell, and others whose names are closely associated with a specific device. Each entry consists of the historical developments leading to the invention, a biographical description of the inventor, and the story of the creation of the invention itself. A patent drawing accompanies most entries, although some contain a reproduction of the first page of the published patent in print so small as to be useless. The writing is rather stilted (Lincoln's entry mentions three times in the first three paragraphs that he was the only president to receive a patent), and some obvious errors have not been caught. Some of the patents included here are for items discussed in Ancient Inventions and known thousands of years earlier, such as artificial limbs, cylinder locks, and anesthesia. Of the two books, Ancient Inventions contains information more difficult to locate elsewhere and will serve the broadest audience. Both books are appropriate for school, academic, and public libraries.
James Moffet, Baldwin P.L., Birmingham, Mich.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

This presentation of the discoveries and innovations of the ancients will fascinate the casual reader as well as technology, science, and history buffs. Historian James and archaeologist Thorpe define the ancient period as the time before A.D. 1492, analyzing the evolution of inventions from brain surgery to playing cards, and putting into perspective the accomplishments of many diverse cultures while laying to rest some "distorted Western views of history." Denise Perry Donavin

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