The Ratchet of Technology

Book summaries and thoughts on history, technology & progress

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Author: Michael Magoon

Author and blogger on History, Technology & Progress.
May 12, 2020May 14, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “People, Plants and Genes: the Story of Crops and Humanity” by Denis Murphy

May 11, 2020May 11, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Alchemy of Air” by Thomas Hager

May 10, 2020January 16, 2021 Michael Magoon

Summaries of Top Ten Books

May 9, 2020May 7, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution” by Cochran & Harpending

May 8, 2020May 7, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Ingenium: Five Machines that Changed the World” by Mark Denny

May 8, 2020May 7, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “End of the Old Order in Rural Europe” by Jerome Blum

May 7, 2020May 6, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Power to the People: Energy in Europe over the Last Five Centuries” by Kander et al

May 7, 2020May 6, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Human Accomplishment” by Charles Murray

May 6, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Energy Transitions” by Vaclav Smil

May 5, 2020May 6, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Prime Movers of Globalization” by Vaclav Smil

May 5, 2020May 4, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves” by Matt Ridley

May 4, 2020May 6, 2020 Michael Magoon

Summary: “The Prize” by Daniel Yergin

May 3, 2020May 3, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Power over Peoples” by Daniel Headrick

May 3, 2020May 3, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Technology: A World History” by Daniel Headrick

May 2, 2020May 6, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Transforming the Twentieth Century” by Vaclav Smil

May 2, 2020May 3, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “When Information Came of Age” by Daniel Headrick

May 1, 2020April 30, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Tools for the Job: A Short History of Machine Tools” by LTC Rolt

May 1, 2020May 6, 2020 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Reading in the Brain: The New Science of How We Read” by Stanilaus Dehaene

April 30, 2020April 30, 2020 Michael Magoon

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

April 30, 2020April 29, 2020 Michael Magoon

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

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Top Posts & Pages

  • Book Summary: "First Migrants" by Peter Bellwood
  • Book Summary: “Emergence: the Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software” by Steven Johnson
  • Book Summary: "How the Old World Ended" by Jonathan Scott
  • Book Summary: “The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves” by Matt Ridley
  • Book Summary: "The Nature of Technology" by W. Brian Arthur
  • Book Summary: “The Origin of Wealth” by Eric D. Beinhocker
  • Top Authors to Read
  • Book Summary: "Progress" by Johan Norberg
  • Book Summary: “Energy Transitions” by Vaclav Smil

Recent Posts

  • Summary: “The Age of Wood” by Roland Ennos
  • Book Summary: “The Box” by Marc Levinson
  • Book Summary: “How the Old World Ended” by Jonathan Scott
  • Book Summary: “First Migrants” by Peter Bellwood
  • Book Summary: “Evolution of Human Societies” by Johnson and Earle

Archive

  • January 2021 (8)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • November 2020 (2)
  • May 2020 (27)
  • April 2020 (40)
  • March 2020 (23)
  • February 2020 (16)
  • January 2020 (21)
  • December 2019 (8)
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