Technology and Science in Ancient Civilizations Book

Writing in the early 1930's Lewis Mumford offers a sweeping viewing of technological development over the past thousand years of human history. But Mumford is far from a simple chronicler of technological achievement and failure. As Langdon Winner observes in his introduction to the book, Mumford is among the first thinkers to advance a clear philosophy of technology. Indeed, Mumford's insights into, criticisms of, and prescriptions for technological development are fascinating. While Mumford is most frequently recognized for his distinctions between various periods of technological development (i.e. eotechnic, paleotechnic, and neotechnic), I think Mumford's greatest contributions are in his insights into the fundamental ambivalence of machines for good and evil purposes. As such, Mumford is not a simple romantic (anti-technology), nor is he a thoughtless technological enthusiast. Instead, Mumford calls for a critical evaluation of technological systems and devices relative to the nature, abilities, and goals of human beings that possess a rich thought life that resists an overly simplistic regimentation. Apart from the various insights Mumford offers, he is also pleasure to read. In short, Mumford writes with a tremendous amount of candor, wit, and intelligence, which I find refreshing. Although the book was written in 1934, its insights are still relevant, and I would highly recommend this book to others looking for a thoughtful, wise, and engaging treatment of technological development.