Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Kindle
$61.71

Available instantly

Hardcover
$18.38 - $210.00

Paperback
$20.33 - $64.96

$64.96

FREE Returns

FREE delivery Wednesday, May 15

Select delivery location

In Stock

$$64.96 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

$20.33

This is a USED book, it is subject to external and interior wear including, underlining, highlighting, annotations, water damage, minor scuffs and tears. This is a donated book accepted as is. Stickers and sticker residue on the cover should be expected, as well as spine wear from use. There are NO codes or disc(s) included. All items ship Monday - Friday within 2-3 business days. Thank you for supporting Goodwill of OC This is a USED book, it is subject to external and interior wear including, underlining, highlighting, annotations, water damage, minor scuffs and tears. This is a donated book accepted as is. Stickers and sticker residue on the cover should be expected, as well as spine wear from use. There are NO codes or disc(s) included. All items ship Monday - Friday within 2-3 business days. Thank you for supporting Goodwill of OC See less

$3.99 delivery May 20 - 21. Details

Or fastest delivery May 15 - 20. Details

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$64.96 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Ships from and sold by Goodwill of Orange County.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (19) from $20.33 + $3.99 shipping

Follow the author

Daniel R. Headrick

+ Follow

More books from this author

When Information Came of Age: Technologies of Knowledge in the Age of Reason and Revolution, 1700-1850

by Daniel R. Headrick (Author)

3.9 7 ratings

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$64.96","priceAmount":64.96,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"64","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"96","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"S5w45cvQZIwWk1kLRyu7X1sc8YnT78FfIYPbH8scI%2B6DASGGMTE6c0MT2%2Bv1URzOePTYTM0Dd60C%2BsV1%2FHpkEysfN5aIBmF2kKn0f2wqmlamzocjybXi%2BiskBHfo8ulF9lwCQ30WUFs%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$20.33","priceAmount":20.33,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"20","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"33","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"S5w45cvQZIwWk1kLRyu7X1sc8YnT78Ff6qxcggVfYRoCQhROi1MjdQ9plnkLVq7JdPE6ovLHTIOTT%2FaDbQgtQ%2FbeKEXdYIN3CSwq3QvKpTQL3r2%2BqZnjHHx55vTn816sV%2BLHYW8JYdIfaqKdTW2H52okPYUkhbslq3p0Pj%2BP6vBafQSn5tVUDwE52QIle4yS","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Although the Information Age is often described as a new era, a cultural leap springing directly from the invention of modern computers, it is simply the latest step in a long cultural process. Its conceptual roots stretch back to the profound changes that occurred during the Age of Reason and Revolution. When Information Came of Age argues that the key to the present era lies in understanding the systems developed in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to gather, store, transform, display, and communicate information.

The book provides a concise and readable survey of the many conceptual developments between 1700 and 1850 and draws connections to leading technologies of today. It documents three breakthroughs in information systems that date to the period: the classification and nomenclature of Linnaeus, the chemical system devised by Lavoisier, and the metric system. It shows how eighteenth-century political arithmeticians and demographers pioneered statistics and graphs as a means for presenting data succinctly and visually. It describes the transformation of cartography from art to science as it incorporated new methods for determining longitude at sea and new data on the measure the arc of the meridian on land. Finally, it looks at the early steps in codifying and transmitting information, including the development of dictionaries, the invention of semaphore telegraphs and naval flag signaling, and the conceptual changes in the use and purpose of postal services.

When Information Came of Age shows that like the roots of democracy and industrialization, the foundations of the Information Age were built in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the myths of the computer era is that it is our age that invented Information Technology. In a book that is as timely as it is scholarly, Dan Headrick shows how the age of enlightenment discovered 'information' as a systematic way of organizing the things we know. Information technologies preceded industrialization and clearly played a major role in the emergence of modern production techniques and the democratic institutions of free market. Headrick is one of the most imaginative and original minds working on historical questions today."--Joel Mokyr, Northwestern University

"Information processing is not a recent invention. Indeed, it is as old as human speech. Headrick's path-breaking book shows us, with admirable precision, how information processing assumed new forms and reshaped European and American society between 1700 and 1850."--William H. McNeill, University of Chicago (Emeritus)

"Anyone interested in the historical roots of the present Information Age should read When Information Came of Age." Daniel Headrick argues convincingly that the modern attitudes toward information that we take for granted had their start in the 18th century. From dictionaries to maps to classification schemes in natural history and chemistry, Headrick explains how and why scientists and humanists began to think about information in new ways--and how these new ways of thinking about information made possible the present Information Age."--Steven Lubar, Smithsonian National Museum of American History

"It is already a commonplace to refer to our time as the 'Information Age' and most people would probably associate it weith the diffusion of computing technology. Headrick does a masterful job in When Information Came of Age of showing that the roots of this age lie deep in profound changes in the methods of handling information that occurred a long time ago. The lesson is important because in nurturing innovation it is necessary to realize that new gadgets are only a superficial manifestation of the really revolutionary things happening out of sight."--Juan D. Rogers, Georgia Institute of Technology

"When Information Came of Age is an excellent addition to the growing collection of studies on the origins of 'our' Information Age. Headrick clearly demonstrates that a revolution occurred in the organization and presentation of information long before the arrival of the computer. This is an important book."--James M. Cortada, IBM and author of Before the Computer

"An original, lucid synthesis, one that serves to remind us that today's controversies often have long pedigrees. Many of our debates on Internet privacy and encryption, for instance, have their origins in the postal service and legislative controversies of the French Revolution. The recounting of the history of power and information has only begun, and this book is an outstanding contribution."--The Wilson Quarterly

About the Author

Daniel R. Headrick is Professor of Social Science and History at Roosevelt University and author of numerous books on world history, includnig The Invisible Weapon, The Tentacles of Progress, and The Tools of Empire.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (January 3, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 260 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195153731
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195153736
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1450L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.9 x 0.56 x 5.78 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,040,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #266 in Education History & Theory
- #1,826 in European History (Books)
- #3,618 in History of Education

Customer Reviews:
3.9 7 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Daniel R. Headrick

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5

7 global ratings

3 star

0%

2 star

0%

1 star

25%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

J. R. G. Mendonca

Entertaining piece of History, highly learned book

Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2009

Verified Purchase

I simply loved this book. It is written in a very lighthearted style, despite being filled with abundant scholarly observations, notes, and references. The amazing collection of very pertinent and relevant (although not original) anecdotes is particularly delightful. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest not only in History per se, but also in Economic History, the History of Technical Change and Innovation, the History of Ideas and so on. For people with an interest in dictionaries, statistics, and maps this book will add a wealth of contextualized information and knowledge (no pun intended...) hardly available in any other single source, sewing many pieces of history coherently with a history of technical change line. A must have in learned layman libraries.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

D&T

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2014

Verified Purchase

Recommend.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

R. Albin

Solid

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2016

A well written discussion of the emergence of modern information systems associated with the Enlightenment. Headrick aims partly at correcting some of the triumphalism associated with modern information technologies. As he points out, while modern information technologies are unprecedented in power and scope, many of the basic principles were pioneered during the Enlightenment. Headrick focuses on what might be called conceptual aspects of information technologies, discussing less the specific, mechanical technologies, than the emergence and elaboration of systems of information. In a series of concise and well written chapters he discusses classification systems such as Linnean systematics, information storage systems such as encyclopedias and dictionaries, the development of early statistical enumeration, the development of cartographic and graphic representation of data, and information transmission systems such as postal systems and optical telegraphs. Each chapter has nice endnotes and there is a useful bibliography.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Jayne

clear, well organized introduction

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2004

This is an interesting, clearly written, well organized introduction to the history of information technologies. The author explains the role of classification in the increase in knowledge, introducing major contributors to Western science: Linneaus, Lavoisier among others.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Return this item for free

Follow the author

Image Unavailable