We specialize in hard to find items
All Categories
Gadgets and Necessities: An Encyclopedia of Household Innovations
Share Tweet
*Price and Stocks may change without prior notice
*Packaging of actual item may differ from photo shown
- Electrical items MAY be 110 volts.
- 7 Day Return Policy
- All products are genuine and original
About Gadgets And Necessities: An Encyclopedia Of
Product Description From egg timers to commuter cups, this thorough reference details the domestic technology and innovations that in part defined the 20th century. This amusing and thought provoking A–Z encyclopedia examines modern domestic technology and innovations during the 20th century, exploring the social and cultural conditions that produced such products as the electric iron and the vacuum cleaner. • 188 A–Z entries • Introduction and bibliography • Provides extensive illustrations • Offers references to websites and end of entry suggestions for further reading From Booklist This compilation of appliances and their underlying principles is a valuable examination of twentieth-century technology and the relief of home drudgery. To express the importance of gadgetry and home time-savers, the authors append a 28-page introduction that beautifully summarizes the shift in thinking about homes, food preparation, cleanliness, and lifestyles. Of particular interest is a summary of women's liberation from responsibility for the world's mess. The book's 190 entries range over a broad spectrum, from the lowly kettle and sandwich toaster to the Jacuzzi, modem, plastics, Pyrex, and Tefal nonstick surfacing. Entry length varies from two paragraphs on Trouser presses and five on Barbecues to more than two pages on Do-it-yourself and ten on Computers . Coverage is ample, although the absence of entries on water purifiers, icemakers, and bottled water is surprising in view of the inclusion of such low-priority items as Atari and virtual pets. Convenience foods should have included baby food and infant formula. The text covers a number of important contributors to domestic manufacture, notably S. W. Farber, Inc., A. F. Dormeyer (developer of the electric Household Beater in 1927), the Maytag Corporation, and RCA. The brief histories of Sears, Roebuck; Tupperware; and Kmart are essential to an understanding of how and where household innovations are marketed. Layout and fonts are attractive and accessible. Running heads, cross-referencing, and sources for each entry increase the book's value to historians, students, designers, journalists, feminists, and reference librarians. The authors conclude with an adequate five-page bibliography, a list of 53 designers, and a glossary of 86 technical terms, most of which are related to electronics. Gadgets and Necessities has merit. The writing is straightforward and factual and unencumbered with jargon. The cover is striking; however, selection of illustrations is skimpy. The price is reasonable. Overall, the book is a worthy addition to the school and public library shelf. REVWRCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Review "There is much here to be learned. This book is appropriate for public and academic libraries." - American Reference Books Annual "Easily understood by general readers, this work is appropriate for all libraries." - Choice "This handy tool will be greatly appreciated in American school, college, and public libraries." - Lawrence Looks at Books "This compilation of appliances and their underlying principles is a valuable examination of twentieth-century technology and the relief of home drudgery … The writing is straightforward and factual and unencumbered with jargon … Overall, the book is a worthy addition to the school and public library shelf." - Booklist About the Author Pauline Webb is senior curator at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England. Mark Suggitt is museums director at St. Albans Museums, Hertfordshire, England.
