Siegfried Giedion's extraordinary, encyclopedic book traces the various ways in which, for better and for worse, mechanization has assumed control of our lives, from modern systems of hygiene and waste management, to agricultural production, fashion and beyond. This book isn't only clearly written but also eloquent and thoughtful in its investigation of mechanization's reach and appeal. It offers fascinating insights into the intersection between mechanization and the imagination, as manifested in literature and the visual arts. With a wealth of unusual and intriguing illustrations taken from old sales catalogs, industrial manuals, magazines and other sources, this book constitutes a remarkable and endlessly suggestive history of modernity itself, as comprehensive as it is provocatively eccentric.ForewordAnonymous history Springs of mechanizatonMeans of mechanization (locks, assembly line)Mechanization encounters the organic (agriculture, bread making, meat production)Mechanization encounters human surroundings (furniture)Mechanization encounters the household (kitchen, laundering, refrigeration)Mechanization of the bath ConclusionList of IllustrationsIndex

    Along with commercial and dwelling units, temples, palaces, and cathedrals, Zevi treats structures such as fountains, columns, and monuments, subjecting them all to aesthetic, cultural, and functional criteria and explaining them in easily understood terms. Beautifully illustrated with examples from the entire history of the art, this is one of the most stimulating and provocative books ever written on the history and purpose of architecture.