IMAGINATION AND A PILE OF JUNK: A DROLL HISTORY OF INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS
Book ID/图书代码： 06140513B66622
English Summary/英文概要： A celebration of the extraordinary people who created the modern world, spiced with anecdotes and wit. Trevor Norton, who has been compared to Gerard Durrell and Bill Bryson, weaves an entertaining history with a seductive mix of eureka moments, disasters and dirty tricks.
Although inventors were often scientists or engineers, many were not: Samuel Morse (Morse code) was a painter, Lazlow Biro (ballpoint) was a sculptor and hypnotist, and Logie Baird (TV) sold boot polish. The inventor of the automatic telephone switchboard was an undertaker who believed the operator was diverting his calls to rival morticians so he decided to make all telephone operators redundant.
Inventors are mavericks indifferent to conventional wisdom so critics were dismissive of even their best ideas: radio had ’no future,’ electric light was ’an idiotic idea’ and X-rays were ’a hoax.’ Even so, the state of New Jersey moved to ban X-ray opera glasses. The head of the General Post Office rejected telephones as unneccesary as there were ’plenty of small boys to run messages.’
Some inventions were almost stillborn; the first vacuum cleaner was horse drawn on a cart. The first zip fasteners didn’t zip or fasten. It often took a while for great inventions to be exploited. Transistors languished in hearing aids for ten years before they transformed radios. Twenty years after anaesthetics were invented some hosiptals in Britain were still operating without them, and vaccination (’a giant delusion’) had to wait almost a century before it was fully accepted. Even the inventor didn’t always know the real use of their discovery. Edison designed the phonograph for dictation not to play music. Nobel thought his dynamite would bring about world peace. Norton answers such burning questions as ’How did embroidery save thousands of lives?’ and ’Why did it take a World War to get women to wear bras?’
Inventomania is a magical place where eccentrics are always in season and their stories are usually unbelievable - but rest assured, nothing has been invented.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 《想象力与废旧品》讲述了一群非凡的人创造了当今这个世界，当中还参杂着颇多有趣和智慧的故事。特雷弗•诺顿，一直被人们拿来与杰拉德•达雷尔和比尔•布莱森比较，在这本讲述发明历史的书中，读者还能了解其背后那些灵光乍现的时刻，发明所带来的灾难以及为了发明玩的肮脏把戏。
虽然大多数发明者都是科学家或工程师，但很多也不是：塞缪尔•莫尔斯（摩斯电码发明者）是一个画家，罗兹勒.比罗（圆珠笔发明者）是个雕刻家，催眠师，罗杰.彼尔德（电视发明者）是个卖鞋油的。自动电话交换机的发明者是一个殡葬工作者，他坚信电话操作员把电话都转给了对手，所以他决心让所有的电话操作员都失业。
发明者都是特立独行的人，对世俗的小聪明毫不理会，所以评论家们也对他们的绝妙主意不屑一顾：收音机“没前途”，电灯“是傻子的主意”，X-射线“根本是骗局”，新泽西州甚至禁止出售X-射线手术眼镜。邮政总局的负责人抵制电话，认为其没有必要存在，有一大堆小男孩替人传达消息。
有一些发明甚至差点“胎死腹中”，第一台吸尘器是一台马车，第一款拉链不能拉上或拉下。一个伟大的发明总要过很久才会出现。晶体管在用于收音机前的十年，一直被人们当助听器使用；在麻醉剂发明二十年后，英国仍有很多医院在手术中不使用麻醉剂；疫苗接种在发明一个世纪后才被人们完全接受。有些发明就算是他的发明者也不清楚其真正用途。爱迪生发明留声机是为了听写，而不是播放音乐；诺贝尔相信炸弹的发明会带来世界和平。诺顿在书中回答了一些困扰人们已久的问题：例如刺绣的发明如何拯救了数千人？为什么要经历一场世界大战的时间才让女人戴上胸罩？
发明屋是个神奇的地方，怪人们总在里面发明应时的东西，而且他们的故事总是让人难以置信。（XAT）
Awards/获奖情况：
About the Author/作者介绍： 特雷弗•诺顿是英国利物浦大学海洋生物专业的名誉教授，现已退休。他发表了大量关于生态的文章。他也是马恩岛研究中心的名誉高级研究员，他也居住于次岛上。他的著作有《海下的星星》，《夏季的倒影》以及《在水中躲雨》。Trevor Norton is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Liverpool, having retired from the Chair of Marine Biology. He has published widely on ecological topics. He is also an Honorary Senior Fellow at the Centre for Manx Studies on the Isle of Man where he lives. His much acclaimed books include Stars Beneath the Sea, Reflections on a Summer Sea and Under Water to Get out of the Rain.
Format:HARDCOVER
Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)
Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE
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