Book description
How did the popularity of underwear in the twelfth century lead to the invention of the printing press?
How did the waterwheel evolve into the computer?
How did the arrival of the cannon lead eventually to the development of movies?
In this highly acclaimed and bestselling book, James Burke brilliantly…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Connections as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I love books that cause me to view things in ways I never had before. Connections did that over and over again.
Burke views history through the lens of technical innovation. What his book revealed to me was that everything has its antecedents; things that came before that were the building blocks of what was to come. The more I read, the more I noticed that I was looking at things differently, not only seeing links but thinking about what could come next based on where something came from and the direction our culture was moving. This is a transformative…
From B.'s list on creativity, storytelling, and how we make decisions–irrationally.
James Burke is a genius who had his own PBS series based on his book, Connections. Right from the get-go, he convinced me that one small malfunction can cripple our entire technologically-based system. This interdependence is typical of almost every aspect of life in the modern world.
Burke made me realize that we live surrounded by objects and systems that we take for granted, but they profoundly affect the way we behave, think, work, play and run our lives and those of our children. If you doubt his assertion, he says, look around you. How many machines could you…
From Jeff's list on managing projects.
If you love Connections...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
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