Its rare for a book to make you see the world differently, but this ... does exactly that on almost every page GuardianStandard histories of technology give tired accounts of the usual inventions, inventors, and dates, framing technology as the inevitable march of progress. They split history into ages electrification, motorisation, and computerisation and rarely ask whether anyone bothered to use these inventions at the time. Shock of the Old is not one of those histories. Letters exist alongside emails and outlasted telegrams we still make physical books and magazines despite the rise of the Internet a belated rise considering that the technologies that made it possible was invented in 1965, and bookshops thrive despite Amazon. More horses were used in the Second World War than any other war in history and propeller planes continue to take off from the same runways as jets. Shock of the Old forces us to reassess the significance of old inventions such as corrugated iron and sewing machines and rethink the relative importance we place on the invention of something new, its application, and its widespread adoption. It challenges the idea that we live in an era of ever increasing change and, interweaving political, economic and cultural history, teaches us to think critically about technology.

Binding: Paperback;304 pages; Publisher: Profile Books Ltd; Classification: TBX; Weight: 338 g; Dimensions: 198 x 134 x 20

Something not quite right? You have 28 days from the day you receive it, to send something back.

Please note, we cannot offer refunds on fashion face masks, cosmetics, pierced jewellery, adult toys, and swimwear or lingerie if the hygiene seal is not in place or has been broken.

Items of footwear and/or clothing must be unworn and unwashed with the original labels attached. Also, footwear must be tried on indoors. Items of homeware including bedlinen, mattresses, and toppers, and pillows must be unused and in their original unopened packaging. This does not affect your statutory rights.

Click here to view our full Returns Policy.