Technology has been one of the major determinants in the development of Western civilization; yet only recently has there been recognition of this fact.  As yet this recognition has not been sufficiently incorporated either into general histories of Western civilization, or into those books which deal specifically with the history of technology itself.  General history books almost entirely neglect the technological factor, of when they do treat it, it is usually in the form of a chapter on the Industrial Revolution which focususes on the economic and social impact without any serious attempt to explain or understand the interplay of technological factors with the economic and social ones. 

The present book, while focusing on the technological element, still attempts to integrate technological developments with those other aspects of society and culture which have been affected by technology.

The second volume deals exclusively with 20th-century developments.  The nature of technological history itself has dictated this division.