Skip to product information
1 of 1

Buy 3, Get 1 Free! Promo Code: BUY3GET1

Blue Vase Books

A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next

A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next

Author: Standage, Tom

Regular price $5.97
Regular price Sale price $5.97
Sale Sold out

Condition: Good

hardcover

In stock

From the bestselling author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses, an eye-opening road trip through 5,500 years of humans on the go, revealing how transportation inevitably shapes civilization.

Tom Standage's fleet-footed and surprising global histories have delighted readers and cemented his reputation as one of our leading interpreters of technologies past and present. Now, he returns with a provocative account of a sometimes-overlooked form of technology-personal transportation-and explores how it has shaped societies and cultures over millennia.

Beginning around 3,500 BCE with the wheel--a device that didn't catch on until a couple thousand years after its invention--Standage zips through the eras of horsepower, trains, and bicycles, revealing how each successive mode of transit embedded itself in the world we live in, from the geography of our cities to our experience of time to our notions of gender. Then, delving into the history of the automobile's development, Standage explores the social resistance to cars and the upheaval that their widespread adoption required. Cars changed how the world was administered, laid out, and policed, how it looked, sounded, and smelled--and not always in the ways we might have preferred.

Today--after the explosive growth of ride-sharing and years of breathless predictions about autonomous vehicles--the social transformations spurred by coronavirus and overshadowed by climate change create a unique opportunity to critically reexamine our relationship to the car. With A Brief History of Motion, Standage overturns myths, considers roads not taken, and invites us to look at our past with fresh eyes so we can create the future we want to see.

ISBN: 1635573610

SKU:31URM800AIZN_ns

Note on Condition

Most of the items in our store are used. The items condition is indicated at the top of the product page. Please refer to the following condition notes:

  • Used - Good: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.

  • Used- Acceptable: The item is very worn but continues to work perfectly. Signs of wear can include aestetic issues such as scratches, dents, worn and creased covers, folded page corners, and minor liquid stains. All pages and the cover are intact, but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include moderate to heavy amount of notes and highlighting, but the text is not obscured or unreadable. Page edges may have foxing (age related spots and browning). May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.

  • Used-Ex-Library (Good/Acceptable): Former library book with the usual stamps, stickers, and labels. See Good/Acceptable notes for more detail.

  • Used- Very Good: Book has little sign of wear or use

  • New- Brand new, unread book

Shipping & Local Pick Up

Shipping: Most orders are shipped within 24 hours. Please allow 4-14 days after the item has shipped for delivery. Faster shipping is available for purchase at checkout.

Local Pick Up: Orders will be available for pick up within 24 hours. Pick up at the front desk Thursday-Sunday 10am-6pm .After hours pick ups are available Monday-Wednesday 7am-3pm at the Shipping & Receiving entrance.

View full details