{"product_id":"the-control-revolution-technological-and-economic-origins-of-the-information-society","title":"The Control Revolution: Technological and Economic Origins of the Information Society","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhy do we find ourselves living in an Information Society? How did the collection  processing  and communication of information come to play an increasingly important role in advanced industrial countries relative to the roles of matter and energy? And why is this change recent--or is it? James Beniger traces the origin of the Information Society to major economic and business crises of the past century. In the United States  applications of steam power in the early 1800s brought a dramatic rise in the speed  volume  and complexity of industrial processes  making them difficult to control. Scores of problems arose: fatal train wrecks  misplacement of freight cars for months at a time  loss of shipments  inability to maintain high rates of inventory turnover. Inevitably the Industrial Revolution  with its ballooning use of energy to drive material processes  required a corresponding growth in the exploitation of information: the Control Revolution. Between the 1840s and the 1920s came most of the important information-processing and communication technologies still in use today: telegraphy  modern bureaucracy. rotary power printing  the postage stamp  paper money  typewriter  telephone  punch-card processing  motion pictures  radio  and television. Beniger shows that more recent developments in microprocessors  computers  and telecommunications are only a smooth continuation of this Control Revolution. Along the way he touches on many fascinating topics: why breakfast was invented  how trademarks came to be worth more than the companies that own them  why some employees wear uniforms  and whether time zones will always be necessary. The book is impressive not only for the breadth of its scholarship but also for the subtlety and force of its argument. It will be welcomed by sociologists  economists  historians of science and technology  and all curious in general.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44945379000373,"sku":"ByrdShop_0674169859","price":268.08,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780674169852.jpg?v=1770850493","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-control-revolution-technological-and-economic-origins-of-the-information-society","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}