Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Vintage Uk (2015)
Description
" How would you go about rebuilding a technological society from scratch? If our technological society collapsed tomorrow, perhaps from a viral pandemic or catastrophic asteroid impact, what would be the one book you would want to press into the hands of the postapocalyptic survivors? What crucial knowledge would they need to survive in the immediate aftermath and to rebuild civilization as quickly as possible-a guide for rebooting the world? Human knowledge is collective, distributed across the population. It has built on itself for centuries, becoming vast and increasingly specialized. Most of us are ignorant about the fundamental principles of the civilization that supports us, happily utilizing the latest-or even the most basic-technology without having the slightest idea of why it works or how it came to be. If you had to go back to absolute basics, like some sort of postcataclysmic Robinson Crusoe, would you know how to re-create an internal combustion engine, put together a microscope, get metals out of rock, accurately tell time, weave fibers into clothing, or even how to produce food for yourself? Regarded as one of the brightest young scientists of his generation, Lewis Dartnell proposes that the key to preserving civilization in an apocalyptic scenario is to provide a quickstart guide, adapted to cataclysmic circumstances. The Knowledge describes many of the modern technologies we employ, but first it explains the fundamentals upon which they are built. Every piece of technology rests on an enormous support network of other technologies, all interlinked and mutually dependent. You can't hope to build a radio, for example, without understanding how to acquire the raw materials it requires, as well as generate the electricity needed to run it. But Dartnell doesn't just provide specific information for starting over; he also reveals the greatest invention of them all-the phenomenal knowledge-generating machine that is the scientific method itself. This would allow survivors to learn technological advances not explicitly explored in The Knowledge as well as things we have yet to discover. The Knowledge is a brilliantly original guide to the fundamentals of science and how it built our modern world as well as a thought experiment about the very idea of scientific knowledge itself"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
Man, this book was a hot mess.
LibraryThing member psutto
Good
Dartnell sets out to outline the knowledge required to rebuild out modern society after an apocalypse. Full of interesting information it kind of fails at its stated aim, in my opinion, because it assumes that the apocalypse is a “nice” one (i.e. doesn’t destroy the infrastructure too
Overall – You’ll need more than this one book to help you restart civilisation, but having this one book will give you a good headstart
Dartnell sets out to outline the knowledge required to rebuild out modern society after an apocalypse. Full of interesting information it kind of fails at its stated aim, in my opinion, because it assumes that the apocalypse is a “nice” one (i.e. doesn’t destroy the infrastructure too
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much) and that the folk left behind will have a viable population for industrial society. However if you’re ready to take those two assumptions then Dartnell takes a whirlwind tour of restarting electricity, industrial chemistry, medicine, communications and all the rest of the technologies that make the modern world what it is. Along the way you’ll get a great, but brief, overview of all these things. It is, by necessity, brief and perhaps this is the greatest criticism that can be levelled at the book since anyone can tell you that the devil is in the details. There are a few illustrations but if anything it is a primer for the intelligent survivor to know what knowledge he needs to seek out. Overall – You’ll need more than this one book to help you restart civilisation, but having this one book will give you a good headstart
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LibraryThing member Stbalbach
If this book was ever used as intended, as a post-apocalypse manual for restoring civilization from the start, it might be the most important book ever written. Dartnell posits that projects like this are not new, but prior attempts are too long and lost in the details. Rather he suggests a simpler
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approach that describes the most important human knowledge in a single book. It reminds me of antique cooking recipes for example "take some flour and chicken and mix and heat with oil". There are no exact measurements and steps are left for the reader to experiment. It assumes an intelligent reader able to arrive at a destination using the most fundamental knowledge. I would probably spend a lifetime trying to recreate even a fraction of the things Dartnell describes, the devil is in the details, but I learned a lot about our world along the way, it contains the core building blocks. As a work of creative literature this book surprised me, I figure it might be a dry encyclopedia - and there is some of that - but the lively writing style, interesting tangents, witty vocabulary, and the perspective that we the reader are already living in a post-apocalyptic world made it fun and hard to put down. It uses the tried and true Robinsonade technique of putting you on an "island" with a bag of items and then figure out how to survive, and thrive. Show Less
LibraryThing member prichardson
Not necessarily a manual to re-start civilisation but a great start and a lively read never the less! It gives an overview in each chapter of the things and processes around us every day which we take for granted. A real eye opener as to the world we live in and just how much is done each day to
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make it all happen. Show Less
LibraryThing member 2wonderY
I'm scratching my head wondering why this book merited being published. It was such a superficial survey of how to survive lore and basic science/manufacturing that it's worse than useless. Even his bibliography, which you'd assume would be solid, was sketchy. It even listed teotwawki science
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fiction novels, as if they'll be proper reference materials. Dartnell seems to just have scratched out his own private outline and hmmmm...I've got a book! Show Less
LibraryThing member AJBraithwaite
One of those books which makes me read interesting facts out loud to other people (which I'm sure must be deeply irritating). I generally enjoyed it, although at times I felt it got too bogged down in unnecessary detail. Not sure I needed to know all the advanced chemistry or radio technology. I
I got the feeling that I was being told "Science is really neat!" without any reflection on other important aspects of human development. Like social justice and environmental stewardship.
There's also the problem of the particular apocalyptic scenario the book is based on. This knowledge is all fine if we have a plague which only some of the human race survive, but what do we need to know if the apocalypse is caused instead by a meteor strike, or massive volcanic eruption?
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also felt that the author was concentrating a little too much on getting back to today's technology, rather than thinking about trying to avoid recreating existing, problematic tech such as the use of chemical fertilisers.I got the feeling that I was being told "Science is really neat!" without any reflection on other important aspects of human development. Like social justice and environmental stewardship.
There's also the problem of the particular apocalyptic scenario the book is based on. This knowledge is all fine if we have a plague which only some of the human race survive, but what do we need to know if the apocalypse is caused instead by a meteor strike, or massive volcanic eruption?
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LibraryThing member ohernaes
Imagine some kind of plague or an other cause has killed most of humanity, but otherwise left most of the world as it is. How should one go about "rebooting" civilization? I love this premise, which of course serves as frame for learning of and appreciating the intricate science and evolution of
It starts with what would immediately happen with the physical environment humans have created: Reinforced concrete steel will rust and expand. Unreinforced will actually be more durable. Drainage will stop working. Water will need to be purified. Disinfecting can be done with clorine-based bleaches, or can actually be done simply by laying transparent plastic bottles out in the sun, ultraviolet part of rays damaging to microorganisms. Fuel will deteriorate, in particular diesel but also other. Solar panels will last only a few generations. Gorazde city Bosnia: Three years surrounded, made electricity from platforms in river Drina with paddle wheels and car alternators.
Restarting agriculture is a big topic. But hybrid seeds do not breed through, must be bought new each year, need rather airloom seeds. Seed drill. Nitrogen-legumes. Also rotate with roots. Building a lathe is a key to create various tools (and more lathes, it has similarities with a 3D printer that prints itself). Metal is also very important. Remove oxygen, sulfur and other elements the metal is compounded w in the ore. Limestone to lower melting point of worthless rocky stuff so it becomes fluid and removes impurities away from the metal. Drain away slag. If furnace not hot enough, must batter lump at an anvil to squeeze out remaining slag. Iron must be heated again to absorb carbon to become hard steel. More efficient from blast furnace, cast iron pig iron. Modern: transform cast iron, decarbonize it.
Glass made from silica, which has a very high melting point. Glass extremely important for scientific and technological instruments. Medicine. Infectious diseases will again become biggest danger. Anatomy, aseptic, anastethics for surgery. Antibiotics. Not too difficult to make, but must be purified. Must make a lot to get useful medicine even for one person.
Electricity. Author uses ca 14000 kWh last year, would have required 3 tons of dried wood, even if could burn w 100% efficiency, and would require labor to produce. Romans invented vertical heated water wheel, which with a right angled gear transformed vertical motion of the wheel to horizontal motion of the grinding stone. First known use of gearing to transfer power. Different relative sizes of crowned wheel and lantern gear/cage gear to adjust to speed of river. Dem up water for when needed. Wind mills. Power not only used for grinding, but many other uses, like pressing olives, driving drills, spinning, saws, pumping and other. Not least for hammering to crush stones for iron or limestone. Cam mechanism still in cars, "opening and closing the engine valves in the correct sequence. " Steam engine. Thermo power to mechanical power. Create vacuum and air pressure force piston down. Steam creates vacuum when cools. Electromagnetism. Battery. Simple, need only two diff kinds of metal immersed in a conducting fluid called electrolyte. Diff in reactivity determines voltage. First: voltaic pile. Windmills. Smaller now, learnt from aerodynamics. Reduce drag and turbulence. Water. Energy determined by discharge and the head-flow rate and drop. Practical size limits head for wheels. Different with turbines.
AC vs DC in transporting electricity. AC - can bump voltage up and down using transformers. Chemistry chapter dense. Not so easy to relate to. Better with things like solar watch, which has inspired me to take up an old project.
Overall, I am a sucker for such post-apocalypse plots, which combine a situation I think is interesting and that one should have spent some time thinking about, and a lot of basic technology one should know more about. (Here is a more critical review and some other suggestions.) It is a big challenge to remember everything, but definitely recommended.
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the world around us, which we mostly take for granted. The book is full of interesting stuff. It starts with what would immediately happen with the physical environment humans have created: Reinforced concrete steel will rust and expand. Unreinforced will actually be more durable. Drainage will stop working. Water will need to be purified. Disinfecting can be done with clorine-based bleaches, or can actually be done simply by laying transparent plastic bottles out in the sun, ultraviolet part of rays damaging to microorganisms. Fuel will deteriorate, in particular diesel but also other. Solar panels will last only a few generations. Gorazde city Bosnia: Three years surrounded, made electricity from platforms in river Drina with paddle wheels and car alternators.
Restarting agriculture is a big topic. But hybrid seeds do not breed through, must be bought new each year, need rather airloom seeds. Seed drill. Nitrogen-legumes. Also rotate with roots. Building a lathe is a key to create various tools (and more lathes, it has similarities with a 3D printer that prints itself). Metal is also very important. Remove oxygen, sulfur and other elements the metal is compounded w in the ore. Limestone to lower melting point of worthless rocky stuff so it becomes fluid and removes impurities away from the metal. Drain away slag. If furnace not hot enough, must batter lump at an anvil to squeeze out remaining slag. Iron must be heated again to absorb carbon to become hard steel. More efficient from blast furnace, cast iron pig iron. Modern: transform cast iron, decarbonize it.
Glass made from silica, which has a very high melting point. Glass extremely important for scientific and technological instruments. Medicine. Infectious diseases will again become biggest danger. Anatomy, aseptic, anastethics for surgery. Antibiotics. Not too difficult to make, but must be purified. Must make a lot to get useful medicine even for one person.
Electricity. Author uses ca 14000 kWh last year, would have required 3 tons of dried wood, even if could burn w 100% efficiency, and would require labor to produce. Romans invented vertical heated water wheel, which with a right angled gear transformed vertical motion of the wheel to horizontal motion of the grinding stone. First known use of gearing to transfer power. Different relative sizes of crowned wheel and lantern gear/cage gear to adjust to speed of river. Dem up water for when needed. Wind mills. Power not only used for grinding, but many other uses, like pressing olives, driving drills, spinning, saws, pumping and other. Not least for hammering to crush stones for iron or limestone. Cam mechanism still in cars, "opening and closing the engine valves in the correct sequence. " Steam engine. Thermo power to mechanical power. Create vacuum and air pressure force piston down. Steam creates vacuum when cools. Electromagnetism. Battery. Simple, need only two diff kinds of metal immersed in a conducting fluid called electrolyte. Diff in reactivity determines voltage. First: voltaic pile. Windmills. Smaller now, learnt from aerodynamics. Reduce drag and turbulence. Water. Energy determined by discharge and the head-flow rate and drop. Practical size limits head for wheels. Different with turbines.
AC vs DC in transporting electricity. AC - can bump voltage up and down using transformers. Chemistry chapter dense. Not so easy to relate to. Better with things like solar watch, which has inspired me to take up an old project.
Overall, I am a sucker for such post-apocalypse plots, which combine a situation I think is interesting and that one should have spent some time thinking about, and a lot of basic technology one should know more about. (Here is a more critical review and some other suggestions.) It is a big challenge to remember everything, but definitely recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ASKelmore
This is kind of the perfect book to read following Station Eleven; the goal is to put the basics of everything we need to know to start bringing civilization back after the apocalypse in one place. My husband had already bought this book (thinking we’d both enjoy it), which was kind of perfect,
Some individual chapters are very interesting – especially the ones on medicine and on calculating time and location. For those who have a natural curiosity about how the world works, this book is perfect. Material that could be extremely dry in the hands of a less talented writer is … not as dry in Dr. Dartnell’s. He describes everything from making soap to how internal combustion engines work, as well as where we should focus our energy in the beginning (agriculture). As someone who spends more time than most thinking about the disasters that can befall us, this was a dose of reality that I mostly enjoyed.
But this book is really mostly helpful as something to sort of skim now, and then have on your shelf if, say, a pandemic sweeps through and cuts down the population. It’s really cool that someone put so much time and effort into researching this and putting enough detail to at least get started in one place. However, it’s still more of a manual than a book, so it’s probably not for everyone.
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because by the end of Station Eleven I had some questions about how long it really would take for technology and other things we’re used to having to start being available. Luxuries like electricity, and running water.Some individual chapters are very interesting – especially the ones on medicine and on calculating time and location. For those who have a natural curiosity about how the world works, this book is perfect. Material that could be extremely dry in the hands of a less talented writer is … not as dry in Dr. Dartnell’s. He describes everything from making soap to how internal combustion engines work, as well as where we should focus our energy in the beginning (agriculture). As someone who spends more time than most thinking about the disasters that can befall us, this was a dose of reality that I mostly enjoyed.
But this book is really mostly helpful as something to sort of skim now, and then have on your shelf if, say, a pandemic sweeps through and cuts down the population. It’s really cool that someone put so much time and effort into researching this and putting enough detail to at least get started in one place. However, it’s still more of a manual than a book, so it’s probably not for everyone.
Show Less
LibraryThing member LTManning
An interesting guide to survival if you feel there is a reason to have one. I did enjoy the book, though I skipped over the parts that didn't interest me, like how to melt down metals, or weave cloth. But I loved the parts about agriculture, electricity, and medicine. Lewis Dartnell definitely did
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his research, and his explanations of EVERYTHING are easy for the average person to understand. I think instead of the book, I'd want the author himself close at hand should our world suffer a cataclysmic event! Show Less
LibraryThing member DrFuriosa
If you are a nascent scientist looking for a how-to with inorganic chemistry, then this book is for you. If you are not, or are wanting to know about things like how do we make medicine or toilets or toilet paper, then this book is not for you. Clearly, I need to end up with the God's Gardeners
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after the apocalypse... Show Less
LibraryThing member steve02476
Good writing, and some interesting stuff, but too much introduction and not enough actual book. Not convincing or really coherent.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2014
Physical description
7.8 inches
ISBN
0099575833 / 9780099575832
UPC
787721894803