Inventors & Inventions

Robinson, Henry, 1872-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 78K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Inventors & Inventions by Henry RobinsonAuthor: Robinson, Henry, 1872-,Language: English, Class: T: Technology, Release Date: Aug 1, 2014

Editor's review

This book is an English-language work on invention by Henry Robinson, released by Project Gutenberg as a free ebook. It places inventors and inventions within a single narrative framework, making it suitable as introductory material on the history of science and technology and for English reading practice. The content falls under technology (class T); readers can learn the thinking behind particular inventions and sense the social context of modern technological development. As a public-domain ebook, its value lies in being freely available and easy to search and excerpt, making it especially suitable for supplementary classroom reading, reference, and self-directed extensive reading. Note that the book is an English original published long ago, so some statements and historical details may reflect the limits of their time; read it with an open but careful attitude, as a starting point for learning about invention rather than the sole authoritative source. Reading it alongside modern works on the history of technology works even better.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in the history of invention and technological change, as introductory extensive reading.
Middle school or university students who need English popular-science reading to broaden their reading.
Teachers of the history of technology or general-education courses, who can draw materials from it to supplement classes.
Readers accustomed to public-domain ebooks who like to search and excerpt freely.

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking the latest inventions and cutting-edge technology.
Researchers who need systematic academic argument and detailed references.
Beginners with weak English who want a Chinese translation.

Reading tips

Browse the table of contents first and read familiar invention topics first to lower the barrier of English reading.
Keep a vocabulary notebook of high-frequency technical words and review them together after finishing.
After each chapter, retell in your own words the core idea of the invention and its impact.
Read alongside works on the history of technology from the same period to identify statements in the book that may be outdated.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

The book is in the original English, released by Project Gutenberg. It suits readers with some English foundation who want to read about the history of technology in English. If you have little experience reading English, use a dictionary or read bilingually at first.

Is the information about inventions in the book accurate and reliable?

The book was published long ago and is a public-domain work on technology; on the whole it can serve as an introductory reference on invention, but some statements and historical details may reflect the limits of its time. Treat it as a starting point and check key facts against modern works on the history of technology.

Is it suitable for children?

That depends on the child's English level. The topics are appealing to young people, but the original English makes some demands on vocabulary. Parents can pick shorter chapters on specific topics and read them aloud with explanation, or start with similar Chinese books before trying this one.

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About the author

Robinson, Henry, 1872- Author

Henry Robinson (1872–) is an author about whom very little biographical information survives; his nationality, education, and professional career cannot be verified from publicly available sources, and only his year of birth and a single known work are currently established. One title by him is held in the collection, Inventors & Inventions, which, judging from its title and subject matter, is a popular science work for general readers that recounts the stories of inventors and their creations throughout history. Books of this kind typically trace the development of technology in an accessible style, combining personal narratives with accounts of the inventive process, and are valued for making the history of science and technology approachable. Because public information on the author's life and writing background is limited, his academic identity, other publications, and the specific publication details of this book cannot be determined; he can only be characterized, on the basis of this single work's subject and format, as a writer of popular books on the history of technology.