

Ask HN: What history of economics and technology book would you recommend? - ptn

Hi guys,<p>I have started to read about how technology impacts the economy of a society. Currently, I'm with "Science and Technology in World History", by McClellan and Dorn.<p>Would you recommend it? Also, what other books have you read on the topic?<p>Thanks a lot.
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pg
_Medieval Technology and Social Change._ The title sounds boring, but this one
of those books that just cranks your brain open. There is so much new stuff in
it. Or at least, stuff that was new when it was published in the 1960s.

Carlo Cipolla's _Guns, Sails, and Empires_ is a close second. His _Clocks and
Culture_ is also very good; the prologue is probably the best 21 page summary
of the history of western technology that you could find anywhere.

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3dFlatLander
Not really a book, but check out James Burkes Connections series. Other shows
he's worked on have to do with the history of science/technology as well.

The episode pertaining to the birth of the computer is here:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORY-
mXXgJg4&feature=PlayL...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORY-
mXXgJg4&feature=PlayList&p=0C43386079D8B683&index=0&playnext=1)

That's worth checking out first, to give you an idea of what it's like. The
rest of his stuff is here:
<http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JamesBurkeWeb#g/p>

~~~
pg
Actually there is a book version as well:

<http://www.amazon.com/Connections-James-Burke/dp/0743299558>

I loved this series as a kid. It was my favorite TV show. Now that I know more
about the history of technology, the connections sometimes seem a bit
strained, but even so I know of no better introduction to the topic.

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samt
Guns, Germs and Steel is worth reading.

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LucaDuval
I agree wholeheartedly. I read it ten years ago and it answered a few
questions I had been asking myself for many years. It is (in a healthy way)
humbling for a western citizen as it implies that our (declining?) dominant
position in the modern world is mainly a matter of luck.

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ryanelkins
I really like "The Worldly Philosophers" by Robert L. Heilbroner. I don't know
if it's as focused on technology as you're looking for but it does a good job
of showing how economics and economic theory evolved over time and the
circumstances the people driving it were in that would have helped shape their
thoughts.

It has a short chapter covering the time before "modern" economics and then
covers many of the major economists from Adam Smith to Joseph Schumpeter.

~~~
ptn
Another great recommendation, from what my economist of a dad tells me.

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orhtograph
James Beniger's "Control Revolution" [http://www.amazon.com/Control-
Revolution-Technological-Econo...](http://www.amazon.com/Control-Revolution-
Technological-Economic-Information/dp/0674169867)

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TrevorBurnham
"Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations" by David Warsh (2007). It's really two
books: It shows how the academic field of Economics works today, and covers
much of the field's history; and it also examines Paul Romer's theory of
economic growth, which (succinctly) states that technological advancement is
the key factor. Talk to any economist about growth these days, and they'll
talk about Romer.

It's a very readable book, and I highly recommend it to a wide audience.

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profquail
"When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management" is a
pretty good one, though the books main focus is the people involved in the
situation, not the technology they were using.

More info from Wikipedia:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Genius_Failed:_The_Rise_an...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Genius_Failed:_The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Long-
Term_Capital_Management)

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samg
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Ferguson.

[http://www.amazon.com/Ascent-Money-Financial-History-
World/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Ascent-Money-Financial-History-
World/dp/0143116177/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263757104&sr=8-1)

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rah
1\. The Lever of Riches, by Joel Mokyr 2\. Guns Germs and Steel, by Jared
Diamond 3\. A Farewell to Alms, by Gregory Clark 4\. Power and Prosperity, by
Mancur Olsen 5\. Carnage and Culture, Victor Davis Hanson 6\. Capital Ideas,
by Peter Bernstein 7\. The Geodesic Network, by Peter Huber

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riffer
Wired - A Romance by Gary Wolf

Very inspiring story of the rise and fall of the coolest magazine on the
planet. Worships upon the altar of the driven, scrappy, and relentless.
Nothing else like it.

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elidourado
_An Empire of Wealth_ by John Steele Gordon.

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rick_2047
Well there is Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy[1].
The first part is mainly about how hackers from MIT influenced the world of
technology but the second and third part touches upon how they effected the
economy with there companies and all.

This may not be the best book for your research but this definitely will help
you understand the players.

[1][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers:_Heroes_of_the_Computer...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers:_Heroes_of_the_Computer_Revolution)

