Monday, March 28, 2011

Download PDF Unbound: How Eight Technologies Made Us Human, Transformed Society, and Brought Our World to the Brink, by Richard L. Currier

Download PDF Unbound: How Eight Technologies Made Us Human, Transformed Society, and Brought Our World to the Brink, by Richard L. Currier

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Unbound: How Eight Technologies Made Us Human, Transformed Society, and Brought Our World to the Brink, by Richard L. Currier

Unbound: How Eight Technologies Made Us Human, Transformed Society, and Brought Our World to the Brink, by Richard L. Currier


Unbound: How Eight Technologies Made Us Human, Transformed Society, and Brought Our World to the Brink, by Richard L. Currier


Download PDF Unbound: How Eight Technologies Made Us Human, Transformed Society, and Brought Our World to the Brink, by Richard L. Currier

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Unbound: How Eight Technologies Made Us Human, Transformed Society, and Brought Our World to the Brink, by Richard L. Currier

Review

“Currier’s seamless narrative recalls Jared Diamond’s sprawling histories of human civilization, and like Diamond, Currier manages to be thorough in synthesizing a great deal of specialized knowledge . . . while telling a story that is gripping.” —Library Journal   “Here, briefly and artfully told, is the wondrous but ultimately humbling story of how humans have used technology since prehistoric times to conquer the natural world—and why, in the process, we may be destroying it. Richard Currier will grab your attention on the first page and hold it to the last. This is an original and hugely important book.” —Tom Gjelten, Religion and Belief Correspondent, NPR News and author of A Nation of Nations   “A breathtaking analysis of human technological, social, and cultural history . . . An original telling of the human story, beautifully written by an erudite anthropologist . . . Unbound should be on every educated person’s reading list." —Jack M. Potter, Professor of Anthropology Emeritus, University of California at Berkeley   “An ambitious and fascinating account of the role of technologies in the evolution of the human species . . . All in all, a ‘Jared Diamondesque’ tour de force.” —Richard Robbins, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Plattsburgh   “Unbound is a fascinating, accurate, and highly readable account of human cultural progress from the earliest hominid toolmaking to the age of digital technology. Richard Currier masterfully shows how eight key technologies have built upon each other, allowing humans to become our planet’s most widely adaptive species. Unbound also provides a cautionary message, lest humans destroy themselves by technological overreach. This book will fascinate people of all ages who want to know how, beginning with their earliest origins, humans came to be the way they are today.” —William O. Beeman, professor and chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota   “How has technology figured in bringing us to our present-day predicament? . . . Given anthropologist and author Richard Currier’s broad knowledge and lucid prose, this innovative, broad-ranging, beautifully illustrated exploration promises—and deserves-to find wide use, both in the classroom and beyond.” —Robert Bates Graber, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Truman State University   “Unbound is a fine book, written in clear, non-technical language. Richard Currier succeeds in analyzing and clarifying the ways that technologies have affected both social structure and communication throughout the history of cultures.” —Eugene A. Hammel, professor of Anthropology and Demography, emeritus, University of California at Berkeley   “Sweeping in scope, daring in proposition, Unbound looks backward to look forward at a future mediated—and threatened—by human technologies." —Brandy Schillace, PhD, managing editor, Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry   “Unbound combines the best of a lifetime of discriminating, multidisciplinary scholarship with the storytelling abilities of great scholarly, humanistic writers like Desmond Morris, Carl Sagan, and historian James McPherson. Dr. Currier's highly accessible work is alive with the energy of discovery. Synthesizing insights from paleontology, primatology, cultural anthropology, and related sciences, it surprises and challenges accepted narratives of human evolution. In the process, it not only conveys a new understanding of our profound and ancient connections; it also illuminates key facets of modern society. Highly recommended for all serious students of human culture and the humanities—and for any reader who wants a greater sense of place at a time when understanding how we function as a species has never been more urgently needed.” —William Manley, Technical Lead for Cultural Resource Programs Worldwide and Deputy Federal Preservation Officer, United States Navy   “A satisfying complete work beautifully written and presented. . . . I have just put down what will be a classic and required reading in anthropology departments. Unbound is more: it is a highly readable, believable history of how Man became what s/he is. . . . Rarely can one call a work of non-fiction a page-turner, but this one is. . . . This is one of those satisfying, complete works that will appeal equally to the academic and the educated “man in the street.” The structure is more than clever, it is original: with inventions leading up to language, the point at which most assessments of modern man begin. The reader will get some new viewpoints on early development—bipedalism and the invention of the spear stand out—and, most importantly, how the bits go together to make evolution. The title is as brilliant as the “binding” into various parts for ease of reference. Read Darwin, then read Currier. We are going to hear much of this book.” —Robert Cooper, anthropologist and author of Thailand: Culture Shock! A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette   “Unbound is a fascinating overview of the influence of technology on human evolutionary history. It is an excellent example of b understood by a wide audience of educated readers.” —Anek R. Sankhyan, PhD, President, Palaeo Research Society, Ghumarwin, Himachal Pradesh, India

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About the Author

Richard L. Currier earned his BA and PhD in social and cultural anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and taught anthropology at Berkeley, the University of Minnesota, and the State University of New York. He coauthored a ten-volume series on archeology for young adults and published numerous articles in scholarly journals and mainstream magazines. A pioneer in the design and development of interactive learning technologies, Currier has won numerous awards for his work. He lives in Oceanside, California.

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Product details

Hardcover: 416 pages

Publisher: Arcade; First Edition Firist Printing edition (August 18, 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9781628725223

ISBN-13: 978-1628725223

ASIN: 1628725222

Product Dimensions:

6.2 x 1.5 x 9.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.3 out of 5 stars

89 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#892,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

While the title doesn't exactly make you want to grab it and burn though the text, this is a fascinating book. Starting with the early hominids (ok, no longer technically correct) Currier deftly illustrates the effect of various technologies on humanity. Sure the obvious ones are included like the agricultural revolution, but others are equally, if not more profound, such as the very use of tools. Currier explains his reasoning and this is where the book excels. As an example, tool use at the very beginning of our existence gave our predecessor species a critical calorie acquiring and predator defeating advantage. So much so we rose from knuckle dusters to full bipeds in a very short (evolutionary speaking) timespan. The author ties this in with observation of chimp behavior to illustrate how small but critical the step was. While the reader might disagree at some of Currier's technology choices, one can easily see the profound effects. If you're curious how we got to where we are now, this is a book well worth your time.

I have just put down what will be a classic and required reading in anthropology departments. 'Unbound' is more: it is a highly readable, believable history of how Man became what s/he is. It's a big book, and getting five million years into some 400+ pages must have been a Herculean task of editing for Currier. I read it almost at a sitting. Rarely can one call a work of non-fiction a page-turner, but this one is. And having been a Professor of Anthropology or actively involved in practical anthropology all my working life, and looking for the faults and what's missing, I am surprised to say at no point did I stop and note 'this is wrong' or 'he missed out ~'. This is one of those satisfying complete works that will appeal equally to the academic and the educated 'man in the street'. The structure is more than clever, it is original: with inventions leading up to language, the point at which most assessments of modern man begin. The reader will get some new viewpoints on early development ~ bipedalism and the invention of the spear stand out~ and, most importantly, how the bits go together to make evolution. The title is as brilliant as the 'binding' into various parts for ease of reference. Read Darwin, then read Currier. We are going to hear much of this book.

Richard Currier’s book “Unbound” takes us back millions of years in order to lead us back through eight technologies that contributed to the world we inhabit today. Once completed, he delves into a ninth, tackling the digital information age and discussing the impact it has had and will continue to have on our lives as well as those who follow us.While this book could easily have been a myriad of technical terms, Mr. Currier has written it in an educational as well as entertaining manner. Many interesting facts are contained on nearly every page (As an example, that strong grip a newborn exhibits at birth is actually a hereditary requirement from the days when infants needed to grasp its mother’s fur with both hands and feet so the mother could use her hands and feet to keep the two of them alive. Our current set of toes, of course, do not allow for grabbing, and humans have long outgrown the need to live in trees).In fact, the descriptions of how and why humans evolved – such as I mentioned in the above paragraph – are amazing and yet make so much sense due to the author’s wonderful commentary. Most of us realize that fire was a game-changer, but the consideration of how bipedal locomotion affected females in the gathering of food or the reasons why man HAD to be making clothes a million years ago are also monumental steps in our progression to the 21st century. His detailed explanation on how agricultural societies impacted man and helped create villages, trade, and eventually city-states are enlightening. Lastly, Mr. Currier touches on the potential for a planetary catastrophe of our own making as man demonstrates a disregard for the danger signs that nature keeps erecting in our path.Bottom line: Entertaining and educational, “Unbound” just might cause you to read it in one or two sittings. Highly recommended. Five stars.

This book is one of the best I've ever read on the topic of biological and cultural evolution. If you like to ponder how humanoids evolved, both biologically and socially/culturally, into human beings, then this is your book.As one example, Richard takes you along the path from tree-dwelling humanoids to the "pointy stick" which then both allowed and forced new evolutionary and behavioral paths. Using sticks for tools allowed the humanoids, working in groups, to exploit resources farther and farther from the trees and their safety. Pointy sticks, deployed by small groups as digging tools and weapons, gave these hominids certain advantages that, over time, resulted in the loss of prehensile toes, narrowing of hips, the widening of shoulders, and 100% walking erect. About 4 million years into the pointy stick phase, humanoids began to learn to create and harness fire and make stone tools and changes happened again.Richard does an excellent job of taking the reader along the path of stick tools, fire, stone tools, metals, fabric, domestication of animals, development of agriculture, and a host of other topics. Some of the most fascinating to me are how behavior changed between the sexes as agricultural development led to an entirely new value, ownership of land.Truly a fascinating book, well worth the time spent reading it - perhaps more than once.

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