Books in Inventions That Changed the World series

With billions of users worldwide, Facebook has become the most successful social media website on the internet. It has also been the subject of praise, criticism, and controversy. Using key facts, sidebars, and photographs related to the topic, this book informs students about what the world was like before Facebook, including a look at previous forms of online communication, and examines what made Facebook successful and what led to its displacement of MySpace at the top of social media. This book explores how Facebook has changed the world and societies since its creation, for better and worse, and explains Mark Zuckerberg's role as leader of this successful business. Facebook's hand in contemporary social issues, such as domestic violence and bullying, is also discussed, as well as the site's connection to controversial events like Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, illuminating the extent of Facebook's reach and influence today.

Christopher Hitchens, the #1 New York Times best-selling author of God Is Not Great has been called a Tom Paine for our times, and in this addition to the Books that Changed the World Series, he vividly introduces Paine and his Declaration of the Rights of Man, the world’s foremost defense of democracy. Inspired by his outrage at Edmund Burke’s attack on the French Revolution, Paine’s text is a passionate defense of man’s inalienable rights, and the key to his reputation. Ever since the day of publication in 1791, Declaration of the Rights of Man has been celebrated, criticized, maligned, suppressed, and co-opted, but in Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man, Hitchens marvels at its forethought and revels in its contentiousness. Famous as a polemicist and provocative commentator, Hitchens is a political descendent of the great pamphleteer. In this engaging work he demonstrates how Thomas Paine’s book forms the philosophical cornerstone of the United States of America, and how “in a time when both rights and reason are under attack, the life and writing of Thomas Paine will always be part of the arsenal on which we shall need to depend.”

The 20th century approaches, and life is about to change forever! Inventors across the world race to invent and innovate automobile designs. Which ones will end up on top? Anyone who has ever ridden in a car will appreciate this fascinating title about how the automobile got its start. Fun facts, a timeline, and inventor and automobile profiles show the importance of this amazing invention!

As the single work at the heart of Christianity, the world’s largest organized religion, the Bible is the spiritual guide for one out of every three people in the world. It is also the world’s most widely distributed book and its best-selling, with an estimated six billion copies sold in the last two hundred years. But the Bible is a complex work with a complicated and obscure history. Its contents have changed over the centuries, it has been transformed by translation and, through interpretation, has developed manifold meanings to various religions, denominations, and sects.In this seminal account, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, life, and afterlife of history’s most powerful book. Armstrong analyzes the social and political situation in which oral history turned into written scripture, how this all-pervasive scripture was collected into one work, and how it became accepted as Christianity’s sacred text, and how its interpretation changed over time. Armstrong’s history of the Bible is a brilliant, captivating book, crucial in an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism.

As the work at the heart of Christianity, the Bible is the spiritual guide for one out of every three people in the world. It is also the world’s most widely distributed book, translated into over two thousand languages, and the world’s best selling book, year after year. But the Bible is a complex work with a complicated and obscure history. Made up of sixty-six “books” written by various authors and divided into two testaments, its contents have changed over the centuries. The Bible has been transformed by translation and, through interpretation, has developed manifold meanings to various religions, denominations, and sects. In this seminal account, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, and life of history’s most powerful book. Armstrong analyzes the social and political situation in which oral history turned into written scripture, how this all-pervasive scripture was collected into one work, and how it became accepted as Christianity’s sacred text. She explores how scripture came to be read for information, and how, in the nineteenth century, historical criticism of the Bible caused greater fear than Darwinism. This is a brilliant, captivating book, crucial in an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism.

Many consider Thomas Edison the inventor of the light bulb, but this world-changing invention has a long history. Since the 19th century, many have worked to create and improve the light bulb. Starting from the light bulbs early development all the way up to its modern uses, this informative title will fascinate anyone who wants to know about the invention that lights up the world!

Smartphones put a camera in just about everyones pocket, but it hasnt always been so easy to take a snapshot. The 18th century brought a new innovation that allowed people to easily preserve a moment in time. That innovation carries on today! Through informative text, fun facts, and special features, this fascinating title explores how the camera was invented and how it continues to develop!

Without Johann Gutenberg, the way we read, write, and distribute printed information would be completely different. Readers will take a close look at the life of the man who invented the printing press, an invention that revolutionized publishing. This book takes readers through Gutenbergs early years as a goldsmith, and how they led to his invention of a moveable type machine. Engaging and information-rich text is paired with vivid photographs and a timeline to make this a dynamic read, one that supports both STEM and history curricula in an accessible way.

Many consider Thomas Edison the inventor of the light bulb, but this world-changing invention has a long history. Since the 19th century, many have worked to create and improve the light bulb. Starting from the light bulbs early development all the way up to its modern uses, this informative title will fascinate anyone who wants to know about the invention that lights up the world!

This is the story of one of human history's most iconic inventions: the steam engine. It follows a long and exciting history from the coal mines of England to the Industrial Revolution and the transcontinental railroad in the United States. With colorful images and surprising facts, readers will follow the evolution of the steam engine from a simple pump to the advanced electrical generators of today, while learning about the famous minds and inventions that made it all possible.

The 20th century approaches, and life is about to change forever! Inventors across the world race to invent and innovate automobile designs. Which ones will end up on top? Anyone who has ever ridden in a car will appreciate this fascinating title about how the automobile got its start. Fun facts, a timeline, and inventor and automobile profiles show the importance of this amazing invention!