Building a Bridge to the 18th Century

2011-06-08 Social Science

Author : Neil Postman
Release : 2011-06-08
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 287/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Building a Bridge to the 18th Century by : Neil Postman

Download or read book Building a Bridge to the 18th Century written by Neil Postman. This book was released on 2011-06-08. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time when we are reexamining our values, reeling from the pace of change, witnessing the clash between good instincts and "pragmatism," dealing with the angst of a new millennium, Neil Postman, one of our most distinguished observers of contemporary society, provides for us a source of guidance and inspiration. In Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century he revisits the Enlightenment, that great flowering of ideas that provided a humane direction for the future -- ideas that formed our nation and that we would do well to embrace anew. He turns our attention to Goethe, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Kant, Edward Gibbon, Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, Jefferson, and Franklin, and to their then-radical thinking about inductive science, religious and political freedom, popular education, rational commerce, the nation-state, progress, and happiness. Postman calls for a future connected to traditions that provide sane authority and meaningful purpose -- as opposed to an overreliance on technology and an increasing disregard for the lessons of history. And he argues passionately for specific new guidelines in the education of our children, with renewed emphasis on developing the intellect as successfully as we are developing a computer-driven world. Witty, provocative, and brilliantly reasoned, Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century is Neil Postman's most radical, and most commonsensical, book yet.

How the Past Can Improve Our Future

2000 Civilization, Modern

Author : Neil Postman
Release : 2000
Genre : Civilization, Modern
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 407/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis How the Past Can Improve Our Future by : Neil Postman

Download or read book How the Past Can Improve Our Future written by Neil Postman. This book was released on 2000. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in the US in 1999. Discusses the civilization of the western world in the 18th century and the ideas of great thinkers of the Enlightenment, including Goethe, Rousseau, Kant, Adam Smith, Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin. Looks at how these ideas relate to the modern world and its culture and technology. Examines issues of education, democracy and philosophy. Includes references, a bibliography and an index. The author's other publications include 'The End of Education', Conscientious Objection and 'The Disappearance of Childhood.

London Bridge and its Houses, c. 1209-1761

2021-10-31 Social Science

Author : Dorian Gerhold
Release : 2021-10-31
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 549/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis London Bridge and its Houses, c. 1209-1761 by : Dorian Gerhold

Download or read book London Bridge and its Houses, c. 1209-1761 written by Dorian Gerhold. This book was released on 2021-10-31. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: London Bridge lined with houses from end to end was one of the most extraordinary structures ever seen in London. It was home to over 500 people, perched above the rushing waters of the Thames, and was one of the city’s main shopping streets. It is among the most familiar images of London in the past, but little has previously been known about the houses and the people who lived and worked in them. This book uses plentiful newly-discovered evidence, including detailed descriptions of nearly every house, to tell the story of the bridge and its houses and inhabitants. With the new information it is possible to reconstruct the plan of the bridge and houses in the seventeenth century, to trace the history of each house back through rentals and a survey to 1358, revealing the original layout, to date most of the houses which appear in later views, and to show how the houses and their occupants changed during five and half centuries. The book describes what stopped the houses falling into the river, how the houses were gradually enlarged, what their layout was inside, what goods were sold on the bridge and how these changed over time, the extensive rebuilding in 1477-1548 and 1683-96, and the removal of the houses around 1760. There are many new discoveries - about the structure of the bridge, the width of the roadway, the original layout of the houses, how the houses were supported, the size and internal planning of the houses, the quality of their architecture, and the trades practised on the bridge. The book includes five newly-commissioned reconstruction drawings showing what we now know about the bridge and its houses.

The Great Bridge

2001-06 History

Author : David McCullough
Release : 2001-06
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 373/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis The Great Bridge by : David McCullough

Download or read book The Great Bridge written by David McCullough. This book was released on 2001-06. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1972, The Great Bridge is the classic account of one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. Winning acclaim for its comprehensive look at the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, this book helped cement David McCullough's reputation as America's preeminent social historian. Now, The Great Bridge is reissued as a Simon & Schuster Classic Edition with a new introduction by the author. This monumental book brings back for American readers the heroic vision of the America we once had. It is the enthralling story of one of the greatest events in our nation's history during the Age of Optimism -- a period when Americans were convinced in their hearts that all great things were possible. In the years around 1870, when the project was first undertaken, the concept of building a great bridge to span the East River between the great cities of Manhattan and Brooklyn required a vision and determination comparable to that which went into the building of the pyramids. Throughout the fourteen years of its construction, the odds against the successful completion of the bridge seemed staggering. Bodies were crushed and broken, lives lost, political empires fell, and surges of public emotion constantly threatened the project. But this is not merely the saga of an engineering miracle: it is a sweeping narrative of the social climate of the time and of the heroes and rascals who had a hand in either constructing or obstructing the great enterprise. Amid the flood of praise for the book when it was originally published, Newsday said succinctly "This is the definitive book on the event. Do not wait for a better try: there won't be any."

Building the Brooklyn Bridge, 1869-1883: An Illustrated History, with Images in 3D

2021-09-24 History

Author : Jeffrey I. Richman
Release : 2021-09-24
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 123/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Building the Brooklyn Bridge, 1869-1883: An Illustrated History, with Images in 3D by : Jeffrey I. Richman

Download or read book Building the Brooklyn Bridge, 1869-1883: An Illustrated History, with Images in 3D written by Jeffrey I. Richman. This book was released on 2021-09-24. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building the Brooklyn Bridge reminds us of the historic importance of this iconic bridge that was once considered the eighth wonder of the world. It opened up development across the East River and made travel between the two independent cities of Brooklyn and New York quicker and more reliable; especially once the bridge railway was fully operational in September 1883, four months after the bridge's opening. Historian Jeffrey Richman describes in engaging detail how the Brooklyn Bridge was built over fourteen years and clearly explains the function of each of its parts, from the anchorages to the massive cables. The story of the construction is also told through 255 remarkable images, many never before published, including 44 images in 3D, specially created for this book. These historic photographs, woodcuts, color lithographs, and engineering drawings take us back in time to when all of America, and much of the world, watched with excitement as a singular bridge of unprecedented size and technology was built over one of the busiest waterways in the world. The book illuminates long-forgotten details and presents the bridge as the engineering marvel that it is-one that still elicits awe and admiration. This is an incredible journey back in time to when all of America-and much of the world-excitedly watched as the Brooklyn Bridge was being built. Reading the book will be a real treat to anyone who has ever stepped onto this beloved icon and been moved by its majesty. A pair of 3D glasses is included with every copy of the book.

Popular eBooks

How the Past Can Improve Our Future

The Great Bridge

Building the Brooklyn Bridge, 1869-1883: An Illustrated History, with Images in 3D

You may also like...