From the invention of eyeglasses to the Internet, this three-volume set examines the pivotal effects that inventions have had on society, providing a fascinating history of technology and innovations in the United States from the earliest colonization by Europeans to the present.

VOLUME 1: COLONIAL AMERICA TO 1865 Introduction, Chronology, Section 1: Colonial America and Enlightenment Science, Overview, American Philosophical Society, Primary Document: Memorial of the American Philosophical Society Favoring an Exploration of the Alaskan Coast (1868), Astronomical Almanacs, Primary Document: Aphorisms from Poor Richard's Almanack (1732–1758), Banneker, Benjamin (1731–1806), Primary Document: Letter of Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Banneker, Expressing Jefferson's Belief That Blacks Had Talents Equal to Other Races (1791), Primary Document: Frontispiece of Benjamin Banneker's Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Almanack and Ephemeris (1792), Bifocals, Primary Document: Benjamin Franklin's Letter Describing His Invention of Bifocals (1725), Bushnell, David (1740–c. 1824), Primary Document: Engraving of David Bushnell's American Turtle (1775), Colden, Jane (1724–1766), Daylight Saving Time, Extension Arm (Long Arm), Fire Safety, Flexible Catheter, Food Production, Native American, Franklin, Benjamin (1706–1790), Primary Document: Letter of Benjamin Franklin Describing His Experiments with Electricity (c. 1750), Franklin Stove, Primary Document: Excerpt from Benjamin Franklin's An Account of the New Invented Pennsylvanian Fire-Places (1744), Glass Harmonica (Armonica), Primary Document: Excerpt of Benjamin Franklin's Letter to Father Giambatista Beccaria Describing the Glass Harmonica (1762), Glover, Elizabeth (d. 1643), Godfrey, Thomas (1704–1749), Iron- and Silversmithing, Kentucky Long Rifle, Lightning Rod, Primary Document: Frontispiece and Title Page of Benjamin Franklin's Experiments and Observations on Electricity (1774), Loom, Primary Document: Excerpts from the Diary of Martha Ballard Describing Home Weaving (1787), Lucas, Eliza (1722–1793), Primary Document: Letter of Eliza Lucas to Her Father (1741), Masters, Sybilla (c. 1675–1720), Mather, Cotton (1663–1728), Natural History, Onesimus (fl. 1706–1716), Peale, Charles Willson (1741–1827), Primary Document: Letter of Charles Willson Peale to Thomas Jefferson Regarding New Agricultural Inventions and Innovations (1815), Priestley, Joseph (1733–1804), Rittenhouse, David (1732–1796), Primary Document: Letter of Thomas Jefferson to David Rittenhouse (1778), "Saugus Pot," Schooner, Smallpox Inoculation, Primary Document: George Washington's Order for All Soldiers to Receive a Smallpox Inoculation (1778) and Letter of Edward Rowse to Thomas Jefferson Suggesting the Possibility of Vaccines for Other Diseases (1805), Spinning Wheel, Primary Document: An "Address to the Ladies" Urging American Women to Boycott British Goods (1767), Street Lighting, Swim Fins, Three-Wheel Clock, Primary Document: James Ferguson's Description of Benjamin Franklin's Three-Wheel Clock (1773), Turtle Submarine, Primary Document: Letter of David Bushnell to Thomas Jefferson Regarding Bushnell's Experiments with Submarines (1787), Whiton, David Erskine (1825–1904), Winthrop, John (1714–1779), Primary Document: John Winthrop Describes His Observation of the Planet Venus (1761), Section 2: The New Republic and the Market Economy (1780–1820), Overview, Amphibious Steam Vehicle, Primary Document: Image of an Amphibious Steam Vehicle (1834), Apple Parers, Primary Document: Apple Parer Patent Document Image (1836), Babbitt, Sarah "Tabitha" (1779–1853), Ballard, Martha (1735–1812), Banjo Clock, Blackwell, Elizabeth (1821–1910), Primary Document: Excerpts from "Address on the Medical Education of Women" by Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell (1863), Burr Truss Bridge, Canals, Canning Factory, Charting the Gulf Stream, Circular Saw, Coffee Percolator, Cotton Gin, Cotton Sewing Thread, Dental Floss, Diffraction Grating, Erie Canal, Primary Document: Letter of Robert Fulton to George Washington Urging Him to Support the Construction of Canals (1797), Evans, Oliver (1755–1819), Primary Document: Letters from Oliver Evans to Thomas Jefferson (1804, 1808), Fire Hydrant, Primary Document: Account of the Detroit Fire (1805), Fitch, John (1743–1798), Flatboat, Fulton, Robert (1765–1815), Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, Greene, Catharine Littlefield (1755–1814), High-Pressure Steam Engine, Interchangeable Parts, Internal Combustion Engine, Jefferson, Thomas (1743–1826), Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806), Primary Document: Excerpts from the Journal of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1805, 1806), Lobster Trap, Lowell Mill System, Primary Document: Description of the Life of a Mill Girl from the Lowell Offering (1845), Milling Machine, Morey, Samuel (1762–1843), Multitubular Boiler, National Road, Odometer, Patent and Copyright Statutes, Practical Ocean Navigation, Report on Manufactures (1791), River Steamer, Rumford Fireplace, Rush, Benjamin (1746–1813), Primary Document: Excerpt from the Medical Writings of Benjamin Rush (1805), Screw-Cutting Lathe, Slater, Samuel (1768–1835), Steam Engine, Steam Tractor, Steamboat, Primary Document: Newspaper Announcement of Robert Fulton's Steamboat (1807) and Charles Dickens's Account of His Ride on an American Steamboat (1842), Submarine, Suspension Bridge, Swivel Chair, Thompson, Benjamin (Count Rumford) (1753–1814), Three-Piece Iron Plow, Primary Document: Petition to Congress Asking for a Renewal of the Patent on Jethro Wood's Cast-Iron Plow (1846), Vapor-Compression Refrigerator, Waltham-Lowell Textile System, Wheel Cipher, Primary Document: Excerpts from Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the Wheel Cipher (Undated), Whitney, Eli (1765–1825), Primary Document: Letter of Eli Whitney to His Father Regarding the Ginning of Cotton (1793), Section 3: Antebellum Industrialization and the Civil War (1820–1865), Overview, Adhesive Tape, Agassiz, Louis (1807–1873), Primary Document: Excerpt from the Journal of Louis Agassiz Describing a Trip to the United States (1846), Anesthesia, Ball Bearings and Babbitt Metal, Best Friend Steam Engine, Breast Pump, Brown Truss, Burglar Alarm, Calliope (Steam Organ), Cannon, Double-Barrel, Primary Document: Excerpt from the Memoirs of Former Confederate General Edward Porter Alexander on "Artillery Hell" at Antietam (1907), Civil War Medicine (1861–1865), Primary Document: Report of Medical Director Robert Murray on Union Casualties Suffered at the Battle of Shiloh (1862), Civil War Nursing, Primary Document: Clara Barton's Poem "The Women Who Went to the Field" (1892), Clipper Ship, Primary Document: Excerpts from the Journal of Alexander Van Valen Describing His Journey to California via Clipper Ship (1849), Clothespin, Coal-Mining Technologies, Coil Magnet/Electromagnet, Colgate, William (1783–1857), Colored Female Free Produce Society, Colt, Samuel (1814–1862), Colt Revolver, Columbiad Cannon, Combine Harvester, Compact Iron Stove, Conestoga Wagon, Primary Document: Excerpt from John G. Abbott's Recollections of Traveling to California by Wagon Train (1852), Corn Sheller, Corset, Coston, Martha (1826–1904), Cowboy Hat (Stetson), Crumpler, Rebecca (1831–1895), Cylinder Pin Tumbler Lock, Dahlgren Gun, Deere, John (1804–1886) and Deere and Company, Dental Chair, Detachable Collar, Dix, Dorothea (1802–1887), Dustpan, Eggbeater, Electric Doorbell, Electric Stove, Electric Street Railway, Elevator Safety Brake, Equatorial Sextant, Field, Cyrus West (1819–1892), Fire Alarm Call Box, Floating Dry Dock (1849), Primary Document: Excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's Patent Application for the Floating Dry Dock (1849), Gas Well, Gold-Mining Technologies, Goodyear, Charles (1800–1860), Grain Elevator, Gridiron for Cooking, Hand-Cranked Ice Cream Maker, Health Reform, Henry, Joseph (1797–1878), Hoop Skirt, Horse-Drawn Streetcar, Primary Document: Image of a Horse-Drawn Streetcar (c. 1920), Hospital Transport Service, Women's Department, Howe, Elias (1819–1867), Howe Truss, Interchangeable Gun Parts, Inverted Microscope, Jervis, John B. (1795–1885), Land Mines, Long, Crawford Williamson (1815–1878), Machine/Gatling Gun, Mason Jar, Maynard, Edward (1813–1891), Maynard Carbine, McCormick, Cyrus (1809–1884), Primary Document: Letter of Robert E. Lee to Cyrus McCormick Regarding the Curriculum at Washington College (1865), Mechanical Reaper, Merrick, Solymon (1806–1852), Military Technology (Civil War), Mitchell, Maria (1818–1889), Morse, Samuel F. B. (1791–1872), Morse Code, National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Nightingale Plan, North, Simeon (1765–1852), Omnibus System, Papermaking Machine, Pencil Eraser, Pepper (and Salt) Shaker, Perkins, Jacob (1766–1849), Platform Scale, Polished Steel Plow, Printing, Printing Telegraph, Pullman, George Mortimer (1831–1897), Railroad T-Rail and Tie, Railroads, Primary Document: Pacific Railway Act (1862), Ratchet Wrench, Relay, Repeating Rifle, Roller Skates, Rotary Hook (for Sewing Machines), Rucker Ambulance, Safety Pin, Sewing Machine, Automated, Sewing Pattern, Solar Compass, Spar Torpedo, Steam Locomotive, Steam Shovel, Stevens, Robert Livingston (1787–1856), Strauss, Levi (1829–1902), Telegraph, Primary Document: Act Authorizing Construction of a Transcontinental Telegraph (1855), Ten-Hour Movement, Primary Document: Excerpt from the Preamble and Constitution of the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association (1846), Toothpaste, Torpedo, Transatlantic Cable, Transverse Shuttle, Twine Knotter, Twist Drill, United States Capitol Building, Construction of, U.S. Sanitary Commission (USSC), Vulcanization, Walker, Mary (1832–1919), Western Union Telegraph Company, Zipper, Bibliography: Colonial America to 1865, Index, VOLUME 2: RECONSTRUCTION THROUGH WORLD WAR II Section 1: The Rise of Industrialism, Reconstruction, and the Gilded Age (1866–1900), Overview, Abbe, Cleveland (1838–1916), AC Generator and Transformer, Primary Document: American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) Member Biography for William Stanley (1934), AC Induction Motor, Primary Document: Nikola Tesla's Patent for an AC Induction Motor (1896), Adding Machine with Keys, Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA), American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), Asphalt, Aspirin, Barbed Wire, Primary Document: Excerpts from an Article on Joseph F. Glidden and the Barb-Wire Industry (1884), Batteries, Bee Smoker, Primary Document: Excerpt on the Use of a Bee Smoker from Moses Quinby's Mysteries of Bee-Keeping Explained (1853), Bell, Alexander Graham (1847–1922), Primary Document: Letter of Alexander Graham Bell to His Parents Describing His Idea for the Telephone (1874), Berliner, Emile (1851–1929), Brooklyn Bridge, Camera, Can Opener, Carnegie, Andrew (1836–1919), Carnegie Steel Mill, Primary Document: Correspondence of Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick Regarding the Homestead Strike (1892), Carpet Sweeper, Carver, George Washington (1861–1943), Primary Document: George Washington Carver Addresses Congress (1921), Cash Register, Celluloid, Coca-Cola, Cotton Candy Machine, Crayons, Curling Iron, Diner (Horse-Drawn), Dishwashing Machine, Dow Chemical Company, du Pont, Pierre (1870–1954), DuPont Company, Duprey, Ana Roqué de (1853–1933), Duryea, Charles (1861–1938) and Frank (1869–1967), Earmuffs, Eastman, George (1854–1932), Eastman Kodak Company, Edison, Thomas (1847–1931), Electric Iron, Electric Lightbulb, Electricity, War of the Currents, Electrification, Urban, Escalator, Ferris Wheel, Primary Document: Telegrams between Luther Rice and George Ferris Following the Successful Test of the Ferris Wheel (1893), Folding Cabinet Bed, Primary Document: Patent for Folding Cabinet Bed (1885), Food Preservation, Fountain Pen, Frasch Process, Gas Transmission, General Electric, Goodrich, B. F. (1841–1888), Goodyear, Charles, Jr. (1833–1896), Hallidie, Andrew Smith (1836–1900), Harvard Computers, Primary Document: Undated Photo of the Harvard Computers, Haynes, Elwood (1857–1925), Heyl, Henry (1842–1919), Ice Cream Soda, Inman, George (1895–1972), Iron Ship with Revolving Turret, Ironing Board, Jeans, Jockstrap, Jones, Amanda T. (1835–1914), Primary Document: "The Soldier's Mother" by Amanda T. Jones (1867), Kellogg, William Keith (1860–1951), Kelly, William (1811–1888), Kier, Samuel (1813–1874), Kinematoscope, Knight, Margaret (1838–1914), Lady Stitchers' Union, Lawn Mower, Reel-Type, Lennox, David (1855–1947), Linotype Machine, Margarine, Matchbook Matches, Matzeliger, Jan Ernst (1852–1889), Maxim, Hudson (1853–1927), Metal Detector, Metal Electrode Weld, Metal Windmill, Military Technology (Post–Civil War through World War I), Motion Picture Camera, National Consumers League, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Niagara Falls Power Plant, Primary Document: Excerpt from Nikola Tesla's Commemoration Address for the Niagara Falls Power Plant (1897), Office Technology (Pre–World War II), Paper Bag, Paper Clip, Phonograph, Primary Document: Roll Call of Companies at the Phonograph Convention in Chicago (1890), Photographic Film, Pipe Wrench, Player Piano, Portland Cement Mortar, Punch Card Tabulator, Quadruplex Telegraph, Railroad Refrigerator Car, Railroad Sleeping Car and Pullman Car, Railroad Switch Systems, Richards, Ellen Swallow (1842–1911), Roebling, Emily (1843–1903), Primary Document: Photograph of the Promenade on the Brooklyn Bridge (1899), Roebling, John (1806–1869), Roll Film, Roller Coaster, Rotary Washing Machine, Rowing Machine, Saccharine, Silo, Skyscraper, Soda Fountain, Spork, Steel Arched Bridge, Stethoscope, Binaural, Stockyards, Primary Document: Photograph of Chicago's Union Stock Yards (1907), Tape Measure, Taylor, Frederick (1856–1915), Tesla, Nikola (1856–1943), Ticker Tape, Tom Thumb Locomotive, Primary Document: John Latrobe's Description of the Tom Thumb Locomotive (1830), Track-Type Tractor, Transcontinental Railroad, Twine Self-Binding Harvester, Typewriter and QWERTY, Velocipede, Vending Machine, Vibrator, Water Heater, Westinghouse Air Brake, World's Fairs, Wright, Wilbur (1867–1912) and Orville (1871–1948), Primary Document: Entry from Orville Wright's Diary of December 17, 1903, Yerkes Observatory, Section 2: The Progressive Era and the Roaring Twenties (1900–1929), Overview, Aerosol Spray Can, Airplane, Anderson, Mary (1866–1953), Assembly Line, Primary Document: Excerpt from Henry Ford's "The First Assembly Line" (1913), Automobile Technologies (Pre–World War II), Bakelite, Band-Aid, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Binney & Smith Inc., Birdseye, Clarence (1886–1956), Blender, Blodgett, Katherine (1898–1979), Boeing, William E. (1881–1956), Bottle-Making Machine, Bread Slicer and Wrapping Machine, Bryant, Alice (1862–1942), Cannon, Annie Jump (1863–1941), Carothers, Wallace (1896–1937), Christmas Tree Lights, Chuck Wagon, de Forest, Lee (1873–1961), Dickelman, Elizabeth (dates unknown), Dickerson, Mary Cynthia (1866–1923), Drew, Charles (1904–1950), Ductile Tungsten, Einstein, Albert (1879–1955), Empire State Building, Ford, Henry (1863–1947), Freon, Galvin, Paul Vincent (1895–1959), General Motors (GM), Gilbreth, Lillian (1878–1972), Gramophone/Victrola, Gumball Machine, Hewitt, Peter C. (1861–1921), Hoosier Cabinet, Hydroelectric Power, Jacob, Mary Phelps (1891–1970), Kettering, Charles F. (1876–1958), Lie Detector, Life Savers Candy, Marsh, Albert L. (1877–1944), McKnight, William L. (1887–1978), Midgley, Thomas (1889–1944), Morgan, Garrett (1877–1963), Motorcycle (Pre–World War II), National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), Noether, Amalie Emmy (1882–1935), Olds, Ransom Eli (1864–1950), Panama Canal, Primary Document: Excerpt from President Theodore Roosevelt's Message to Congress After Returning from the Canal Zone in Panama (1906), Pennington, Mary Engle (1872–1952), Petroleum Industry (Pre–World War II), Pop-Up Toaster, Pushpin, Radio, Primary Document: "Radio's Real Uses" by E. E. Free, Science Editor for The Forum (1926), Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Safety Razor, Scotch Tape, Subway System of New York City, Talking Movies, Traffic Light, Electric, Triode Tube, Turbine Engine, Gas Powered, Washing Machine, Electric, Welding, Alternating Current, Welding, Automatic, Section 3: The Great Depression and World War II (1930–1945), Overview, Alaska Highway, Primary Document: Excerpt from Ruth Gruber's Study of Highway Routes to Alaska (1941), Atomic Bombs/Nuclear Weapons, Avenger Field, Primary Document: Letters of Mary Anna Martin Wyall, a Pilot Trainee at Avenger Airfield (1944), B-17 Flying Fortress, Big Science, Blood Transfusion, Bradberry, Henrietta (1903–1979), Calutron Girls, Clarke, Edith (1883–1959), Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical Engineering Cadettes, D Rations, Electric Guitar, Fermi, Enrico (1901–1954), FM Radio, Freeze-Dried Food, Garbage Disposal, Gas Mask, Golden Gate Bridge, Primary Document: Letter of Charles Ellis to the San Francisco Chronicle Regarding the Golden Gate Bridge (1930), Helicopter, Hoover Dam, Primary Document: President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Speech at the Dedication of Hoover Dam (1935), Hydrogen Bomb, Hydroponics, International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), Primary Document: "The Uprising of the 20,000," Interstate Highway System, Primary Document: Excerpt from the Federal-Aid Highway Act (1956), Lamarr, Hedy (1914–2000), Primary Document: Patent for Hedy Lamarr's Frequency-Hopping System (1942), Lange, Dorothea (1895–1965), Lend-Lease Program (1941–1945), Liberty Ships, M&M's, M4 Sherman Tank, Manhattan Project, Mead, Margaret (1901–1978), Microwave Oven, Military Technology (World War II), MIT Radiation Laboratory, Neoprene, Oppenheimer, J. Robert (1904–1967), Paul, Les (1915–2009), Penicillin, pH Meter, Photocopier, Pinball and Arcade Games, Plastic Wrap, Radar, Refrigerator, Richter Scale, Rocketry (Pre–Space Age), Rosie the Riveter, Primary Document: Excerpt from Interview with Maria Isabel Solis (2003), Schwinger, Julian (1918–1994), Semple, Ellen Churchill (1863–1932), SONAR, Submarine Technology, Tampon, Tea Bag, Telephone, Television, Tennessee Valley Authority Electricity Project (TVA), Thomas, Vivien Theodore (1910–1985), Tizard Mission, Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), Wu, Chien-Shiung (1912–1997), Bibliography: Reconstruction through World War II, Index, VOLUME 3: THE COLD WAR TO THE PRESENT Section 1: The Cold War (1946–1979), Overview, 911 Emergency System, Agent Orange, "Air" Athletic Shoes, Antiballistic Missiles (ABMs), Antibiotic, Apollo Project, ARPANET, Aspartame, Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM), Atari, Automotive Technologies (Post–World War II), Baer, Ralph (1922–2014), Primary Document: Excerpt from Ralph Baer's Four-Page Paper Describing His Plans for Simple Video Games (1966), Bar Code Scanner, Benerito, Ruth Rogan (1916–2013), Biodiesel, Primary Document: Statement of Anne Steckel, the Vice President of Federal Affairs of the National Biodiesel Board, to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (2016), Birth Control Pill, Bomb Disposal Robots/Units, Brill, Yvonne Madalaine Claeys (1924–2013), Primary Document: Yvonne Brill's Patent for New Jet Propulsion Technology (1974), Brown, Marie Van Brittan (1922–1999), Bulletproof Vest/Kevlar, Carson, Rachel (1907–1964), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Climate Change, CO2 Welding, Commodore 64, Comsat/Intelsat, Curanderas, Dark Matter Science, Dolby Laboratories, Drones, Electric Car, Primary Document: Article from the energy.gov Web Site on Electric Cars (2014), Enders, John Franklin (1897–1985), Engelbart, Douglas (1925–2013), ENIAC and the "ENIAC Girls," Fortran, Fuller, Richard Buckminster (1895–1983), Primary Document: Drawing of R. Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome (c. 1933), Global Positioning System (GPS), Goeppert-Mayer, Maria (1906–1972), Graham, Bette (1924–1980), Hamilton, Margaret (1936–), Haynes, Martha Euphemia Lofton (1890–1980), Hopper, Grace (1906–1992), Hydraulic Fracturing ("Fracking"), Hydrogen Energy, IBM 360 Computer, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Integrated Circuit, Intel Corporation, Jackson, Mary Winston (1921–2005), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Johnson, Katherine Goble (1918–), Kilby, Jack (1923–2005), Kwolek, Stephanie Louise (1923–2014), Lacks, Henrietta (1920–1951), Land, Edwin H. (1909–1991), Lasers, LED Lights, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Carrier, Liskov, Barbara (1939–), M16 Rifle, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), MASER, McClintock, Barbara (1902–1992), Mercury 13, Military-Industrial Complex, Minsky, Marvin (1927–2016), Moog, Robert (1934–2005), Morgan, Mary Sherman (1921–2004), Nanotechnology, Napalm, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Primary Document: Letter of President Dwight Eisenhower to Keith Glennan, Retiring Administrator for NASA (1960), National Science Foundation (NSF), Noyce, Robert (1927–1990), Primary Document: Personal Interview with Robert Noyce for the IEEE History Center (1975), Nuclear and Radiation Accidents, Ochoa, Ellen (1958–), Orshansky, Mollie (1915–2006), Packet Switching, Particle Accelerator, Primary Document: Press Release Issued by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (2012), Pauling, Linus "Carl" (1901–1994), Permanent Press Fabric, Petroleum Industry (Post–World War II), Plasma Arc Welding, Plastics, Polaroids, Polio Vaccine, Pong, Portable Transistor Radio, Rocket Girls of JPL, Primary Document: Press Release Announcing Eleanor F. Helin's Naming to the Women in Science and Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame (1998), Rogallo, Francis Melvin (1912–2009), Sabin, Albert B. (1906–1993), Salk, Jonas (1914–1995), Satellites and Space Probes, Sherman, Patsy O'Connell (1930–2008), Shippingport Atomic Power Station, Silent Spring (1962), Silicon Valley, Single-Chip Microprocessor, Skylab, Skywalker Ranch, Smallpox, Eradication of, Smoke Detector, Primary Document: Chris P. Borreson's Account of the Iroquois Theater Fire (1904), Space Science and Technology, Primary Document: Account of Astronaut David Alexander Wolf Voting in Space (1997), Stealth Technologies, Superconductivity, Taussig, Helen (1898–1986), Telephone Switching, Computerized, Thomas, Valerie (1943–), Touch-Tone Phones, Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Primary Document: Bill to Reform the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Authorization Act (1989), Transistor Radio, TV Dinner, Unimate/Industrial Robot, Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC), Vaccines, Vaughan, Dorothy (1910–2008), Vocoder, Voyager Spacecraft, Wise, Brownie (1913–1992), Xerox Corporation, Primary Document: Patent for Xerography (1956), Yalow, Rosalyn Sussman (1921–2011), Section 2: The Post–Cold War Era (1980–1999), Overview, AIDS Research, Primary Document: Introduction to the AIDS Archive by Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, Apple, Apple II, Artificial Heart, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Berners-Lee, Tim (1955–), Boston Tunnel, CD and DVD, CD-ROM, Computer/Information Technology, Cray, Seymour (1925–1996), Dell, Michael "Saul" (1965–), Digital Photography, Primary Document: Excerpt from the Patent for Kodak's Digital Camera (1978), Elion, Gertrude (1918–1999), Floppy Disk, Fossey, Dian (1932–1985), Gates, Bill (1955–), Genetic Engineering, Gosling, James (1955–), IBM Personal Computer, Infant Formula, Insulin Pump, Internet, Jobs, Steve (1955–2011), Kare, Susan (1954–), Laser Cataract Surgery Device, Metcalfe, Robert (1946–), Microchip, Microsoft, Mobile Phone, Nuclear Energy/Nuclear Power Plants, Open-Source Software, Perlman, Radia (1951–), Personal Computer (PC), Ride, Sally (1951–2012), Ritchie, Dennis (1941–2011), Primary Document: Abstract for "The Development of the C Language" by Dennis Ritchie (1993), Robotic Surgery, Primary Document: Letter from Elizabeth A. Kage, Acting District Director of the FDA, to Gary S. Guthart, President of Intuitive Surgical Inc., on the Regulation of Robotic Surgery (2013), Satellite Radio, Self-Driving Cars, SEMATECH, Solar Energy, Space Shuttle, Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), Sustainable Agriculture, Wind Energy, Wozniak, Steve (1950–), Section 3: The New Millennium (2000–Present), Overview, Airplane Deicer, Amazon Web Services, Amazon.com, Artificial Memories, Bashen, Janet (1957–), Birth Control Patch, Blizzard Entertainment, Cancer Research, Cassini Saturn Mission, Drake Equation, e-Book and e-Reader, e-Sports, Facebook, Gene Patenting, Genetically Modified Foods, Google, Google Earth, Grandin, Temple (1947–), Hawking, Stephen (1942–2018), Hubble Space Telescope, Human Genome Project, Hybrid Vehicles, Hypertext, International Space Station, Intraocular Contact Lens, iPod, Java, Primary Document: Interview with James Gosling, the Creator of Java (2001), Jemison, Mae (1956–), Joystick/Flight Simulator, Kurzweil, Ray (1948–), Linux, Maker Faire, March for Science, Mars Rover Series, MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), Moore, Ann (1934–), MP3, Negroponte, Nicholas (1943–), Netscape, Nye, Bill (1955–), One Laptop per Child, PayPal, PGP Encryption, Quantum Science, RFID Labels, RU-486/Plan B, Science Friday, SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), Smartphone and 3G Network, Tarter, Jill (1944–), Thompson, Ken (1943–), Primary Document: Interview with Ken Thompson, Inventor of the UNIX System (2011), 3-D Printing, TOR (The Onion Router), Torvalds, Linus (1969–), Tyson, Neil deGrasse (1958–), Video Game, Video Streaming Services, Virtual Reality (VR), Wang, An (1920–1990), Williams, Roberta (1953–) and Ken (1954–), Wireless Communication, YouTube, Bibliography: The Cold War to the Present, Editors and Contributors, Index,

From the invention of eyeglasses to the Internet, this three-volume set examines the pivotal effects of inventions on society, providing a fascinating history of technology and innovations in the United States from the earliest European colonization to the present.

Encourages readers to consider the tremendous potential impact of advances in science and technology and the ramifications of important inventions on the global market, human society, and even the planet as a whole