Technology in World Civilization: A Thousand-Year History

by Arnold Pacey

Book Overview

Most general histories of technology are Eurocentrist, focusing on a main line of Western technology that stretches from the Greeks is through the computer. In this very different book, Arnold Pacey... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262660725
• Release Date: July 1991
• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Technology in World Civilization: A thousand-Year History

This book is full of information relating to old technology. I would recomend it, for any one studing Engerineering. I also feel it is relevant to anyone learning about history.

Technology is a big picture issue

The book is wonderful and has technology broken down into time periods. It starts with Asian technology 700CE-1100CE, Mongols, ands it ends with the 20th century. It is illustrated for nearly every invention. The illustrations show the invention as it is used in a society. You see people in costume as well as the invention. It is certainly a disussion starter. It is a must for every AP World History teacher as well as the casual historian

Great Information

This book is one of those books that takes time to seep in. It is very well and formally written. Very advanced thinking involved. The thing about this book is that it is more about technological dialogue and interaction more than the actual technology. That is why it is so great for AP World History classes. I found that the book can make you just want to skim over and not read the whole thing because it is just compact and concrete so it is hard to take in alot at one time. The book should be read slowly and having an open mind. The information in the book is just great, it goes over the more important ways societies rose and fell. Very helpful for people taking classes or just wanting to know where technology developed from.

A Good Overall Review

Arnold Pacey has written a fine examination of the development of technology throughout the world. He does not limit himself to one area of the world ( a common failing of many Eurocentrists), nor does he go overboard in praising the accomplishments of one area at the expense of others ( something many Asiaphiles tend to do).Pacey concentrates on the last thousand years or so. He covers the numerous accomplishments of Asia and highlights the important role played by the Mongols in linking the world. He also spends some fascinating time in the Americas, which tend to get short shrift from many historians, and draws some interesting parallels between the various "gunpowder empires" and industrial movements. The writing is clear and always interesting, with many nice drawings and diagrams.

Technology in World Civilization

Pacey's thesis is that technology spreads through dialogue between cultures. There are three different types of technological diffusion: when one culture simply gives another culture a technology, when one culture gives another the basic idea and the latter improves upon it, and when technology is imposed upon another culture. A good example of the first type of diffusion is when the Chinese empire came into contact with the Europeans they exchanged goods as well as information that lead to the use of gunpowder and looms in Europe. The second; when the Turks taught the Europeans how to make guns and the Europeans developed an even more powerful cannon that made it back to the Turks. And finally, the plantation farming techniques were imposed on the Africans during the colonial era, even when they thoroughly depleted the soil and required fertilizer and pesticides. The AP World History theme best reflected in Technology in World Civilization is the impact of technology and demography on people and the environment. There are hundreds of examples of this theme in Technology in World Civilization so I will list the three best ones. When the gun was invented after the Chinese spread the word about gunpowder, `gunpowder empires' began to form. The Ottoman Empire is the best example as it was built around the gun. The Ottoman Army was one of the first to fully embrace the firearm into its tactics and even trained special units called Janissaries that were trained from an early age in the ways of firearms. Another critical invention was the printing press in China. The Chinese had an incredible hunger for books and loved to read and learn. The printing press allowed the book to be accessed by many more people than ever before. The final invention that changed life more than anything else was the steam engine. At first only used to pump water out of coalmines because of its incredible inefficiency, it evolved into the force that powered factories, trains, and blast furnaces. Not only did the steam engine make it possible to produce textiles hundreds of times faster than before it united the world. Within 100 years since the popularization of the steam locomotive, tens of thousands of miles of track had been laid and nearly the entire world was accessible by rail. Pacey's thesis seems very sound based on everything he's written in Technology in World Civilization, which makes sense since he wrote the book to defend his thesis. Not having read any other books about the subject matter, I'm not the best person to attack or defend his thesis, but I will choose to defend it because I see no other logical way technology could be transferred. It could be possible that technology was brought over by middlemen who bought and sold information, however it seems that that is a relatively new concept and it didn't occur the pre-modern peoples that information is worth money. The cause and effect examples that support Pacey's thesis are very clear.