How did the popularity of underwear in the twelfth century lead to the invention of the printing press? How did the waterwheel evolve into the computer? How did the arrival of the cannon lead eventually to the development of movies? In this highly acclaimed and bestselling book, James Burke brilliantly examines the ideas, inventions, and coincidences that have culminated in the major technological advances of today. With dazzling insight, he untangles the pattern of interconnecting events: the accidents of time, circumstance, and place that gave rise to the major inventions of the world.Says Burke, "My purpose is to acquaint the reader with some of the forces that have caused change in the past, looking in particular at eight innovations -- the computer, the production line, telecommunications, the airplane, the atomic bomb, plastics, the guided rocket, and television -- which may be most influential in structuring our own futures....Each one of these is part of a family of similar devices, and is the result of a sequence of closely connected events extending from the ancient world until the present day. Each has enormous potential for humankind's benefit -- or destruction."Based on a popular TV documentary series, "Connections" is a fascinating scientific detective story of the inventions that changed history -- and the surprising links that connect them.

詹姆斯·伯克（James Burke），生于1936年，英国作家、科学史研究者、BBC制片人。制作了多部科学史题材的纪录片，包括《联结》《明日世界》《宇宙改变的时刻》等。被《华盛顿邮报》誉为“当今西方世界最引人入胜的头脑”。现居伦敦。

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译者：阳曦，毕业于北京航空航天大学宇航学院，自由撰稿人，杂志专栏作者。已出版译作《宇宙的尺度》《赶往火星》《元素的盛宴》等。