Book description
Our world has been transformed beyond recognition, particularly in
the twentieth 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, mechanised 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 closeξto theξnuts 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.
'The most loveable of the Top Gear presenting trio . . .
there's a sharp and interesting mind under the corduroy. Fascinating.'
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. 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
.
