A “timely, informative, and fascinating” study of 8 inventions—and how they shaped our world—with “totally compelling” insights on little-known inventors throughout history (Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction)

In The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines 8 inventions and reveals how they shaped the human experience:
 
• Clocks
• Steel rails
• Copper communication cables
• Photographic film
• Light bulbs
• Hard disks
• Scientific labware
• Silicon chips
 
Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; how the necessary brevity of the telegram influenced Hemingway’s writing style; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid’s cameras to create passbooks to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa. These fascinating and inspiring stories offer new perspectives on our relationships with technologies.

Ramirez shows not only how materials were shaped by inventors but also how those materials shaped culture, chronicling each invention and its consequences—intended and unintended. Filling in the gaps left by other books about technology, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors—particularly people of color and women—who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias, and convention. Doing so, she shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also shows that innovation is universal—whether it's splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.
Introduction
Chapter 1: Interact
Chapter 2: Connect
Chapter 3: Convey
Chapter 4: Capture
Chapter 5: See
Chapter 6: Share
Chapter 7: Discover
Chapter 8: Think
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Notes
Annotated Bibliography
Quote Permissions
Illustration Credits
Index
  • AWARD | 2021
    American Association for the Advancement of Science's Young Adult Science Book Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    Brown University Book Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    Connecticut Book Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    Florida Book Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    ForeWord Book of the Year Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    Hurston-Wright Legacy Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    Sally Hacker Prize
  • AWARD | 2020
    Florida Book Award
  • AWARD | 2020
    Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Ainissa Ramirez, Ph.D., is the author of the award-winning title The Alchemy of Us (The MIT Press). A graduate of Brown University, she earned her doctorate in materials science and engineering from Stanford. Dr. Ramirez began her career as a scientist at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey and was later an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Yale. Yet, Ainissa Ramirez is best known as a masterful science communicator who is dedicated to making science engaging to a broad audience.  Her book was an L.A. Times Book Prize finalist and it won the Connecticut Book Award as well as the AAAS/Subaru Book Prize. Ramirez has written for Forbes, Time, The Atlantic, and Scientific American and has explained science headlines on CBS, CNN, NPR, ESPN, and PBS. Additionally, she speaks widely on the topics of science and technology and gave a TED talk on the importance of a science education. Currently, she is writing a series of science books for young readers (Candlewick/MIT Press).

About

A “timely, informative, and fascinating” study of 8 inventions—and how they shaped our world—with “totally compelling” insights on little-known inventors throughout history (Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction)

In The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines 8 inventions and reveals how they shaped the human experience:
 
• Clocks
• Steel rails
• Copper communication cables
• Photographic film
• Light bulbs
• Hard disks
• Scientific labware
• Silicon chips
 
Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; how the necessary brevity of the telegram influenced Hemingway’s writing style; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid’s cameras to create passbooks to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa. These fascinating and inspiring stories offer new perspectives on our relationships with technologies.

Ramirez shows not only how materials were shaped by inventors but also how those materials shaped culture, chronicling each invention and its consequences—intended and unintended. Filling in the gaps left by other books about technology, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors—particularly people of color and women—who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias, and convention. Doing so, she shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also shows that innovation is universal—whether it's splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: Interact
Chapter 2: Connect
Chapter 3: Convey
Chapter 4: Capture
Chapter 5: See
Chapter 6: Share
Chapter 7: Discover
Chapter 8: Think
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Notes
Annotated Bibliography
Quote Permissions
Illustration Credits
Index

Awards

  • AWARD | 2021
    American Association for the Advancement of Science's Young Adult Science Book Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    Brown University Book Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    Connecticut Book Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    Florida Book Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    ForeWord Book of the Year Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    Hurston-Wright Legacy Award
  • AWARD | 2021
    Sally Hacker Prize
  • AWARD | 2020
    Florida Book Award
  • AWARD | 2020
    Los Angeles Times Book Prize

Author

Ainissa Ramirez, Ph.D., is the author of the award-winning title The Alchemy of Us (The MIT Press). A graduate of Brown University, she earned her doctorate in materials science and engineering from Stanford. Dr. Ramirez began her career as a scientist at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey and was later an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Yale. Yet, Ainissa Ramirez is best known as a masterful science communicator who is dedicated to making science engaging to a broad audience.  Her book was an L.A. Times Book Prize finalist and it won the Connecticut Book Award as well as the AAAS/Subaru Book Prize. Ramirez has written for Forbes, Time, The Atlantic, and Scientific American and has explained science headlines on CBS, CNN, NPR, ESPN, and PBS. Additionally, she speaks widely on the topics of science and technology and gave a TED talk on the importance of a science education. Currently, she is writing a series of science books for young readers (Candlewick/MIT Press).

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