The editor has chosen 100 patents, ten per decade, from the last century. The first is the aeroplane and the last is sidenafil citrate. In between are specific products like the outboard motor and Tupperwear, broader patents like fullerines and computers, and toys like Lego and Monopoly. There are items one has almost forgotten, like the Theremin, and items so commonplace that one probably never thought they were patented, like Rawlplugs, and traffic lights. There are items that have changed the way we live, like post‐it notes and cellular phones. The choice is wide and varied. Each patent has a brief introduction to function, and details of inventor and filing date and patent number are given. This is followed by a short account of the invention, its use and its importance. Each invention is illustrated by a reproduction of part of the patent. The book has an introduction where Andrew Phillips, formerly Director of Humanities and Social Sciences at the British Library, outlines the social and economic changes that occurred in the twentieth century. This is written around a number of inventions and new ideas, some of which are in this book, and some which are not ‐ in some cases because they were not patentable. Phillips provides a two‐page introduction to each decade, with that to the last decade running a bit longer and acting as a conclusion. There are suggestions for further reading and four pages of index. Any book like this will be a personal choice of the author, and short historical introductions will cover some points and not others, but I never found myself saying what about ‐ whatever might have been my choice.
This is a fun book that has a serious purpose and which includes a lot of useful and interesting material. It is a good framework, if not an outline to the history of ideas and technology in the twentieth century. For the 100 examples it is a useful source of information. In an oblique way it is a good introduction to patents, although van Dulken has produced a very good full introduction (van Dulken, 1992). It is a dippable book. Just one example: I remember Slinky, the helical spring that climbs down stairs from the early 1960s. It was patented in 1947. Last Saturday I saw a child playing with a bright pink slinky, so it is still around. At £16.95 for a hardback this is a very reasonably priced book. It is ideal public library stock: reference or lending. A good present for teenagers interested in science (or maybe even those not), and for technology and trivia enthusiasts. Having written this review, I am going to write a short note on it for the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society Newsletter: I think my friends in that organisation will find it interesting. They may of course ask their public library to get a copy.
