James May's 20th Century

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Hodder & Stoughton, 2007 - History - 294 pages
Our world has been transformed beyond recognition, particularly in the 20th century, and so were our lives and our aspirations. Throughout" James May's Magnificent Machines," James May explores the iconic themes of the past hundred years: flight, space travel, television, mechanized war, medicine, computers, electronic music, skyscrapers, electronic espionage, and much more. But he also reveals the hidden story behind why some inventions like the zeppelin, the hovercraft, or the theremin struggled to make their mark. He examines the tipping points when technologies such as the car or the internet became unstoppable and gets up close to the nuts and bolt of remarkable inventions. Packed with surprising statistics and intriguing facts, this is the ideal book for anyone who wants to know how stuff works and why some stuff didn't make it.

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Contents

Introduction
2
THE INVENTION
32
SHRINKING THE WORLD
162
Copyright

8 other sections not shown

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About the author (2007)

James May is a writer, broadcaster and co-host of Top Gear on BBC2. He writes a weekly column in the Daily Telegraph and has presented series for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky. His previous books include May on Motors and Oz and James' Big Wine Adventure. He is currently training to qualify for his pilot's license. Phil Dolling is an award-winning Executive Producer for BBC Science and History, and has worked on many series including Hannibal, Egypt, Genghis Khan, Human Instinct and Space.

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