
Cool
Description
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It's air conditioning.
For thousands of years, humankind attempted to do something about the slow torture of hot weather. Everything was tried: water power, slave power, electric power, ice made from steam engines and cold air made from deadly chemicals, "zephyrifers," refrigerated beds, ventilation amateurs and professional air-sniffers. It wasn't until 1902 when an engineer barely out of college developed the "Apparatus for Treating Air"-a machine that could actually cool the indoors-and everyone assumed it would instantly change the world.
That wasn't the case. There was a time when people "ignored" hot weather while reading each day's list of heat-related deaths, women wore furs in the summertime, heatstroke victims were treated with bloodletting . . . and the notion of a machine to cool the air was considered preposterous, even sinful.
The story of air conditioning is actually two stories: the struggle to perfect a cooling device, and the effort to convince people that they actually needed such a thing. With a cast of characters ranging from Leonardo da Vinci and Richard Nixon to Felix the Cat, Cool showcases the myriad reactions to air conditioning- some of them dramatic, many others comical and wonderfully inconsistent-as it was developed and presented to the world. Here is a unique perspective on air conditioning's fascinating history: how we rely so completely on it today, and how it might change radically tomorrow.
Reviews / Votes
"Fascinating ... examines the technology and its penetration into American life." * -First Things * Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything provides history readers and social science students alike with a review of how air conditioning evolved and changed life in America, and is recommended not just for college collections but for any seeking a pairingof history and lively social insights. * -Midwest Book Review * "Charming ... Much fun ... short, sharp micro-history." * -New Scientist * . . . A lively and endlessly informative tale about how air conditioning happened scientifically and what it has done for and to us. * -The Common Reader * "A look at our love affair with air-conditioning ... breezily anecdotal." * -The New York Times * "COOL tells the surprisingly suspenseful story of the development and gradual adoption of air conditioning in the United States. The puckish Basile is more than up to the task, and his copious research pays off: Not only is COOL an informative read, each chapter is strewn with more anecdotes than there are sprinkles on an ice cream cone. Some are hilarious; others, jaw-dropping. Best of all, each chapter leaves you wanting more." * -American Scientist * "Some surprising things you probably don't know about air conditioning." * -Los Angeles Times * "Snarky ... entertaining." * -Weekly Standard * "The all-encompassing guidebook to the history of air conditioning, chronicling the numerous gimmicks, failed attempts, con jobs, and eventual successes ... a surprisingly interesting journey." * -San Francisco Book Review * "A joy ... I wish you coolth!" * -KCRW-FM *
More details
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Content
- Intro
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Ice, Air, and Crowd Poison
- 2 The Wondrous Comfort of Ammonia
- 3 For Paper, Not People
- 4 Coolth: Everybody's Doing It
- 5 Big Ideas. Bold Concepts. Bad Timing.
- 6 From Home Front to Each Home
- 7 The Unnecessary, Unhealthy Luxury (That No One Would Give Up)
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- Footnotes
- 1 Ice, Air, and Crowd Poison
- 2 The Wondrous Comfort of Ammonia
- 3 For Paper, Not People
- 4 Coolth : Everybody's Doing It
- 5 Big Ideas. Bold Concepts. Bad Timing.
- 6 From Home Front to Each Home
- 7 The Unnecessary, Unhealthy Luxury (That No One Would Give Up)
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