The book's a great resource if you're a Marco Polo fan BUT..

Doesn't he know that the Industrial Revolution was caused by the POTATO PLANT which was cultivated by the Aymara Indians in present-day Peru?
The potato plant allowed European wheat-grinding mills to be converted to textile mills and a mere 300 years later, Europe had nuclear reactors.

The Ancient Greeks had the steam engine! Heron of Alexandria called his invention an "aeolopile". But Pacey didn't explain why Ancient Greece had no Industrial Revolution.

Pacey is a physicist. Maybe he knows if the Ancient Greeks had an Industrial Revolution in some Parallel Universe.

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. If one civilization never imposed technology upon another than there wouldn't have been plantations in Africa and the indigenous peoples would still be 'multistory farming'. If technology never spread through dialogue, than the Turks would be ruling the world with their superior weaponry that no nation could come close to. Pacey also has a wide variety of examples from all different cultures and eras that support his thesis. In order to prove technology is spread through dialogue, he starts by using the spread of the loom and gunpowder as examples and then moves through history all the way through the train and how it quickly spread through the entire world. Pacey's sources are very varied and never contradict each other. All the books listed in the bibliography are for specific sources and he consulted a separate book for every area of specific interest as well as several more general sources including two of his previous books. He documented every source perfectly and had a wide cross section of author nationalities as well and publishers guaranteeing that his information couldn't be biased. He also had many illustrations and a few sources that were originally from the time period or based on originals. There are few periods in time were it is excruciatingly difficult to find works of the period and many historians write books to fill in the gaps, which are referenced in Technology in World Civilization. In conclusion, Technology in World Civilization is a good read a well as a very informative book on the spread of technology. The only thing it lacked was the pre-historical spread of technology, which I hoped to learn more about. Pacey's thesis is very sound and he provide plenty of evidence to back it up as well as many maps, tables, and drawings. Every fact is documented and he has an impressive list of sources on his bibliography, from the most obscure Studies in Primitive Looms to the very broad Printing and Paper Pacey covered every subject in his book with the utmost detail. Technology in World Civilization delivers not only a lesson in World History, but also an entertaining read.

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.

The Culture of Technology examined many viewpoints of how technology is developed and used by people. The book by Arnold Pacey reveals how different cultures view technology such as nuclear weapons, biological, pollution, medicine and industry. Pacey illustrates how complex technology is clashed with culture and values.

The Culture of Technology examines the effect of new technologies on cultures. The book analyzed such technology advances as snowmobiles, water pumps, and electrical generation. It showed how water pumps in India allowed for different methods of farming, and therefore changed the culture because they were now able to grow crops anywhere in the country, instead of just near water. How the invention of snowmobiles allowed for a faster method of transportation across cold climates and how it changed the way people work in Canada and Alaska. The electrical generation plants in Britain were setup to provide a power reserve for a large community, and how this setup acted as a template to spring plants in all of Europe. These are just the surface of what Pacey shows; technology has improved culture.

Political and social issues also effect how technology is developed. The book goes into detail about how political, social, cultural and economics play a key role in the developing, and implementing technology. Technologies use is also important to a culture and this book brought up the challenges and economic sacrifices that many third world countries live through in the name of advancement. Going from the small impact of electronic toys to the hydroelectric nuclear power plant, this book shows the impact of technological advancement accurately and thoroughly.

This book was an eye opener for me because I had never realized how the smallest technology advancement could become a huge part of people's everyday existence. Pacey presents the technological findings in an easy to read yet clever manner that keeps the reader focused and informed. Technology literature is stereotyped as "dry", but this book is filled with so many interesting facts as well as cause-and-effect scenarios that it was fun to read. I would recommend this book to technology professionals or anyone with the desire to see the impact of the scientific advances that have occurred in the last century. Pacey is clever because he leaves the reader thinking about how we take all the small things for granted even though they have the largest impact.

Arnold Pacey argues that technology is not value free, and that an understanding of the values involved are needed before a decision can be made as to how a problem can best be solved. In the end we must balance competing values in a way that provides the best, most appropriate use of technology for serving human needs. I think that this book is important because it provides a good scheme for analyzing the different values that different groups of people have relative to problem solving through the application of technology. Pacey is generally fair and objective and is not a technology basher.

According to Pacey, values in the practice of technology include: virtuosity values, economic values, and user or needs values. Virtuosity values are closely associated with scientists and technologists. They are the values of the expert culture. The pursuit of technical achievement and mastery over nature are the driving forces. The goal is to extend the frontier of knowledge and technology, to be recognized as tops in their field, and to improve performance. Risks are seen as challenges which are offset by technological innovation. Economic values are closely associated with the businessman. They are the values of economists, capitalists and financiers. The pursuit of profit through organization and management of the means of production is the driving force. The goal is increased output and economic growth. Risks are balanced by potential gain. User values are the values of those most affected by technology. Pacey sees these users exemplified by women. The pursuit of improved lifestyle through maintenance and subsistence are the driving forces. The goal is to achieve stability through the care of people and nature. Risk is to be avoided and prevented. These different sets of values are evident in each individual and are often in conflict. The result is that one set tends to dominate the others, and is dependent upon an individual's own inclinations and personality.

The individual will need to work to balance these different sets of values in a way that is tolerant of ambiguity when they conflict rather than to make one the dominant set. For example, Robert Oppenheimer was able to accept social conscience and technical creativity without one dominating the other. Edward Teller, however, could only accept the values of technical creativity, and would use any means of persuasion to advance his own agenda. Pacey argues that it is essential to tolerate a wide range of values and to make certain to make creative use of the tensions among them. The proper role of scientists and technologists is to help society understand science; it is not to dictate what the choices should be. The danger is that the expert can often present knowledge selectively so that people get a biased view of what their choices are. Instead of imparting understanding, the expert ends up giving instructions. All of this illustrates the need for open dialogue. Democracy can provide the space for this open dialogue, but it is important that corporations, and special interests don't dominate the debate. Non-governmental public interest groups can provide a counter weight to the vested interests and politically powerful. As Pacey notes, without open dialogue, ". . . experts are often carried away by the enthusiasm for the technical potential of their work, and lose touch with those aspects of human need they are supposed to serve". p.158.

Probably a good book for Peace Corps types. Not what I expected from the description when I purchaed the book. It is geared towards rural areas (read: Third World Countries). Not for those of us wanting to build a sustainable house and collect rain water for personal and potable uses on a large scale.

This is an excellent review of the challenges of rainwater harvesting in the rest of the world. It is not well suited for those interested in creating a water harvesting system in Texas( where it is encouraged) or California (where it is practically against the law in most cities). But for those involved in Peace Corps, development assistance or simply living in difficult conditions with limited water this book is great. Many good websites also available today.