The Ratchet of Technology, a site by Michael Magoon

A Library of 150+ Book Summaries on Technology, History & Progress

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Month: April 2020

April 30, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Enlightened Economy: An Economic History of Britain 1700-1850” by Joel Mokyr

April 30, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction” by McClellan and Dorn

April 29, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “How the Scots Invented the Modern World” by Arthur Herman

April 29, 2020May 10, 2020 Michael Magoon

We need an online Coronavirus Census now!

April 29, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World” by Gregory Clark

April 28, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Before the Dawn: Discovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors” by Nicholas Wade

April 25, 2020April 14, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “World on Fire” by Amy Chua

April 25, 2020April 16, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers” by Paul Kennedy

April 24, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization” by Brian Fagan

April 24, 2020April 14, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Migration and Culture” by Thomas Sowell

April 23, 2020April 14, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Conquests and Cultures” by Thomas Sowell

April 23, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America” by David Hackett Fisher

April 22, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Why Europe?: The Rise of the West…” by Jack Goldstone

April 22, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Replenishing the Earth: The Settler Revolution and the Rise of the Angloworld” by James Belich

April 21, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: The Making of Europe… 950-1350” by Robert Bartlett

April 21, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Why did Europe Conquer the World?” by Philip Hoffman

April 20, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Life in a Medieval City” by Joseph and Frances Gies

April 13, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “The Medieval City” by Norman Pounds

April 13, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Article Summary: “Needham Puzzle: Why the Industrial Revolution Did not Originate in China” by Justin Lin

April 13, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Cultural Evolution: How Darwinian Theory Can Explain Human Culture” by Alex Mesoudi

April 13, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Article Summary: “The Early Modern Great Divergence” by Broadberry and Gupta

April 13, 2020April 12, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Nature’s Magic: Synergy in Evolution…” by Peter Corning

April 12, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “First Modern Economy… Dutch Economy 1500-1815” by Jan de Vries

April 11, 2020April 12, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Fifty Inventions that Shaped the Modern Economy” by Tim Harford

April 11, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Article Summary: “The Distribution of Human Population by Altitude” by Cohen and Small

April 10, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Article Summary: “Influence of Ancestral Lifeways on Economic Outcomes in Africa” by Michalopoulos, Putterman & Weil

April 10, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Article Summary: “The Effect of the TseTse Fly on African Development” by Marcella Alsan

April 10, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Economics of Coercion and Conflict” by Mark Harrison

April 9, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Article Summary: “Meta-analysis of … twin studies” by many

April 9, 2020April 8, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City” by Russell Shorto

April 9, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Oxford Handbook of Cities in World History” by Peter Clark

April 8, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure” by Tim Harford

April 8, 2020April 12, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Invisible Weapon: Telecommunications and International Politics 1851-1945” by Daniel Headrick

April 8, 2020April 11, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge” by Matt Ridley

April 7, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Ultrasociety: How 10,000 Years of War Made Humans the Greatest Cooperators…” by Peter Turchin

April 3, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Article Summary: “The Puzzle of Monogamous Marriage” by Henrich, Boyd and Richerson

April 2, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Marriage and Civilization: How Monogamy Made Us Human” by William Tucker

April 1, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Article Summary: “Biogeography and Long-Run Economic Development” by Olsson and Hibbs

April 1, 2020March 18, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “The Tyranny of Experts” by William Easterly

April 1, 2020April 15, 2021 Michael Magoon

Article Summary: “England’s Divergence from China’s Yangzi Delta” by Brenner and Isett

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Top Posts & Pages

  • Book Summary: “Why Europe?: The Rise of the West...” by Jack Goldstone
  • Book Summary: “Energy and Civilization: A History” by Vaclav Smil
  • Book Summary: “Cultural Evolution: People’s Motivations are Changing” by Ronald Inglehart
  • Book Summary “Escape from Rome: The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity” by Walter Scheidel
  • Book Summary: “Cousins’ War: Religion, Politics, Civil War, and the Triumph of the Anglo-America” by Kevin Phillips

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