Date: Tue, 01 Nov 1994 15:49:13 EST From: "Rob Slade, Ed. DECrypt & ComNet, VARUG rep, 604-984-4067" Subject: "Does Technology Drive History" by Smith/Marx BKDTDH.RVW 940823 MIT Press MIT Press 55 Hayward Street Cambridge, MA 02142-1399 USA Maureen Curtin, Int'l Promo. - curtin@mit.edu "Does Technology Drive History?, Smith/Marx, 1994, 0-262-69167-1, U$16.95 The answer, of course, is "Yes." The essays in the book accept this, but discuss how much driving is done, whether historical and social forces drive technological development (equally "yes"), and, mostly, "How do you (society) feel about that?" (Surprise! In good times, people feel good about technology; in bad times, they feel bad!) Most of the examples are taken from business. I strongly suspect that the authors feel much more comfortable with economics and other social "sciences" than they do with technology. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKDTDH.RVW 940823 ====================== DECUS Canada Communications, Desktop, Education and Security group newsletters Editor and/or reviewer ROBERTS@decus.ca, RSlade@sfu.ca, Rob Slade at 1:153/733 Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" (Oct. '94) Springer-Verlag