The Perfectionists
How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World
Échec de l'ajout au panier.
Échec de l'ajout à la liste d'envies.
Échec de la suppression de la liste d’envies.
Échec du suivi du balado
Ne plus suivre le balado a échoué
Acheter pour 31,46 $
Aucun mode de paiement valide enregistré.
Nous sommes désolés. Nous ne pouvons vendre ce titre avec ce mode de paiement
-
Narrateur(s):
-
Simon Winchester
-
Auteur(s):
-
Simon Winchester
À propos de cet audio
The revered New York Times best-selling author traces the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement - precision - in a superb history that is both an homage and a warning for our future.
The rise of manufacturing could not have happened without an attention to precision. At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in 18th-century England, standards of measurement were established, giving way to the development of machine tools - machines that make machines. Eventually, the application of precision tools and methods resulted in the creation and mass production of items from guns and glass to mirrors, lenses, and cameras - and eventually gave way to further breakthroughs, including gene splicing, microchips, and the Hadron Collider.
Simon Winchester takes us back to origins of the Industrial Age, to England where he introduces the scientific minds that helped usher in modern production: John Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. It was Thomas Jefferson who later exported their discoveries to the fledgling United States, setting the nation on its course to become a manufacturing titan. Winchester moves forward through time, to today’s cutting-edge developments occurring around the world, from America to Western Europe to Asia.
As he introduces the minds and methods that have changed the modern world, Winchester explores fundamental questions. Why is precision important? What are the different tools we use to measure it? Who has invented and perfected it? Has the pursuit of the ultra-precise in so many facets of human life blinded us to other things of equal value, such as an appreciation for the age-old traditions of craftsmanship, art, and high culture? Are we missing something that reflects the world as it is, rather than the world as we think we would wish it to be? And can the precise and the natural co-exist in society?
©2018 Simon Winchester (P)2018 HarperCollins PublishersVous pourriez aussi aimer...
-
Knowing What We Know
- The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 14 h et 19 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes—this is Simon Winchester’s brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds. Throughout this fascinating tour, Winchester forces us to ponder what rational humans are becoming. What good is all this knowledge if it leads to lack of thought? What is information without wisdom?
-
-
Knowing
- Écrit par Paul le 2023-06-23
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
Pacific
- Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 14 h et 2 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
Best-selling author Simon Winchester offers an enthralling biography of the Pacific Ocean and its role in the modern world, exploring our relationship with this imposing force of nature. Winchester's personal experience is vast and his storytelling second to none. And his historical understanding of the region is formidable, making Pacific a paean to this magnificent sea of beauty, myth, and imagination that is transforming our lives.
-
-
Enjoyable
- Écrit par Gerry le 2023-01-27
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
Atlantic
- Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 14 h et 30 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
Atlantic is a biography of a tremendous space that has been central to the ambitions of explorers, scientists, and warriors, and continues profoundly to affect our character, attitudes, and dreams. Spanning the ocean's story, from its geological origins to the age of exploration, from World War II battles to today's struggles with pollution and overfishing, Winchester's narrative is epic, intimate, and awe inspiring.
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
Land
- How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 13 h et 46 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
Land - whether meadow or mountainside, desert or peat bog, parkland or pasture, suburb or city - is central to our existence. It quite literally underlies and underpins everything. Employing the keen intellect, insatiable curiosity, and narrative verve that are the foundations of his previous bestselling works, Simon Winchester examines what we human beings are doing - and have done - with the billions of acres that together make up the solid surface of our planet.
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
The Professor and the Madman
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 7 h et 21 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
Part history, part true-crime, and entirely entertaining, listen to the story of how the behemoth Oxford English Dictionary was made. You'll hang on every word as you discover that the dictionary's greatest contributor was also an insane murderer working from the confines of an asylum.
-
-
Proper Heavy
- Écrit par Mentally Guitarded le 2020-04-23
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
The Meaning of Everything
- The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 7 h et 18 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
From the best-selling author of The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, and Krakatoa comes a truly wonderful celebration of the English language and of its unrivaled treasure house, the Oxford English Dictionary.
-
-
OED you know what they stand for now you'll totally get the picture!
- Écrit par Ruth Rutledge le 2022-01-16
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
Knowing What We Know
- The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 14 h et 19 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes—this is Simon Winchester’s brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds. Throughout this fascinating tour, Winchester forces us to ponder what rational humans are becoming. What good is all this knowledge if it leads to lack of thought? What is information without wisdom?
-
-
Knowing
- Écrit par Paul le 2023-06-23
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
Pacific
- Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 14 h et 2 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
Best-selling author Simon Winchester offers an enthralling biography of the Pacific Ocean and its role in the modern world, exploring our relationship with this imposing force of nature. Winchester's personal experience is vast and his storytelling second to none. And his historical understanding of the region is formidable, making Pacific a paean to this magnificent sea of beauty, myth, and imagination that is transforming our lives.
-
-
Enjoyable
- Écrit par Gerry le 2023-01-27
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
Atlantic
- Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 14 h et 30 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
Atlantic is a biography of a tremendous space that has been central to the ambitions of explorers, scientists, and warriors, and continues profoundly to affect our character, attitudes, and dreams. Spanning the ocean's story, from its geological origins to the age of exploration, from World War II battles to today's struggles with pollution and overfishing, Winchester's narrative is epic, intimate, and awe inspiring.
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
Land
- How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 13 h et 46 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
Land - whether meadow or mountainside, desert or peat bog, parkland or pasture, suburb or city - is central to our existence. It quite literally underlies and underpins everything. Employing the keen intellect, insatiable curiosity, and narrative verve that are the foundations of his previous bestselling works, Simon Winchester examines what we human beings are doing - and have done - with the billions of acres that together make up the solid surface of our planet.
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
The Professor and the Madman
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 7 h et 21 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
Part history, part true-crime, and entirely entertaining, listen to the story of how the behemoth Oxford English Dictionary was made. You'll hang on every word as you discover that the dictionary's greatest contributor was also an insane murderer working from the confines of an asylum.
-
-
Proper Heavy
- Écrit par Mentally Guitarded le 2020-04-23
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
The Meaning of Everything
- The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 7 h et 18 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
From the best-selling author of The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, and Krakatoa comes a truly wonderful celebration of the English language and of its unrivaled treasure house, the Oxford English Dictionary.
-
-
OED you know what they stand for now you'll totally get the picture!
- Écrit par Ruth Rutledge le 2022-01-16
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
The Map That Changed the World
- William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 9 h et 59 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
In 1793 William Smith, a canal digger, made a startling discovery that was to turn the fledgling science of the history of the earth - and a central plank of established Christian religion - on its head. He noticed that the rocks he was excavating were arranged in layers; more important, he could see quite clearly that the fossils found in one layer were very different from those found in another. And out of that realization came an epiphany.
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
The Blazing World
- A New History of Revolutionary England, 1603-1689
- Auteur(s): Jonathan Healey
- Narrateur(s): Oliver Hembrough
- Durée: 19 h et 42 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
The seventeenth century was a revolutionary age for the English. It started as they suddenly found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and it ended in the shadow of an invasion by the Dutch. Under James I, England suffered terrorism and witch panics. Under his son Charles, state and society collapsed into civil war, to be followed by an army coup and regicide. For a short time—for the only time in history—England was a republic. There were bitter struggles over faith and Parliament asserted itself like never before. There were no boundaries to politics.
Auteur(s): Jonathan Healey
-
Conquistadores
- A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest
- Auteur(s): Fernando Cervantes
- Narrateur(s): Luis Soto
- Durée: 15 h et 8 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
Over the few short decades that followed Christopher Columbus' first landing in the Caribbean in 1492, Spain conquered the two most powerful civilizations of the Americas: the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru. Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, and the other explorers and soldiers who took part in these expeditions dedicated their lives to seeking political and religious glory, helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. But centuries later, these conquistadors have become the stuff of nightmares.
-
-
Excellent overview of the conquistadors
- Écrit par James Burns le 2023-04-12
Auteur(s): Fernando Cervantes
-
In Search of the Dark Ages
- Auteur(s): Michael Wood
- Narrateur(s): Marston York
- Durée: 14 h et 27 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
In Search of the Dark Ages is an unrivalled exploration of the origins of English identity, and the best-selling book that established Michael Wood as one of Britain's leading historians. Now, on the book's 40th anniversary, this fully revised and expanded edition illuminates further the fascinating and mysterious centuries between the Romans and the Norman Conquest.
-
-
Interesting History and Well Narrated
- Écrit par Some Guy le 2023-02-25
Auteur(s): Michael Wood
-
Krakatoa
- The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883
- Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
- Narrateur(s): Simon Winchester
- Durée: 12 h et 1 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa - the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic disaster - was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly 40,000 people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event that has only very recently been properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round die planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light.
-
-
A compelling story, well narrated
- Écrit par Armstrong le 2023-02-25
Auteur(s): Simon Winchester
-
An Elegant Defense
- The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives
- Auteur(s): Matt Richtel
- Narrateur(s): Fred Sanders
- Durée: 12 h et 33 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
A magnificently reported and soulfully crafted exploration of the human immune system - the key to health and wellness, life and death. An epic, first-of-its-kind audiobook, entwining leading-edge scientific discovery with the intimate stories of four individual lives, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist.
-
-
a masterpiece, phenomenally wrotton
- Écrit par Amazon Customer le 2021-10-11
Auteur(s): Matt Richtel
-
The Asteroid Hunter
- A Scientist's Journey to the Dawn of Our Solar System
- Auteur(s): Dante Lauretta
- Narrateur(s): Dante Lauretta, Sir Brian May
- Durée: 7 h et 52 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
On September 11, 1999, humanity made a monumental discovery in the vastness of space. Scientists uncovered an asteroid of immense scientific importance—a colossal celestial entity. As massive as an aircraft carrier and towering as high as the iconic Empire State Building, this cosmic titan was later named Bennu. Remarkable for much more than its size, Bennu belonged to a rare breed of asteroids capable of revealing the essence of life itself. But just as Bennu became a beacon of promise, researchers identified a grave danger.
Auteur(s): Dante Lauretta
-
The Hidden Habits of Genius
- Beyond Talent, IQ, and Grit - Unlocking the Secrets of Greatness
- Auteur(s): Craig Wright
- Narrateur(s): Fred Sanders
- Durée: 10 h et 7 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
What is genius? The word evokes iconic figures like Einstein, Beethoven, Picasso, and Steve Jobs, whose cultural contributions have irreversibly shaped society. Yet Beethoven could not multiply. Picasso couldn’t pass a fourth grade math test. And Jobs left high school with a 2.65 GPA. The Hidden Habits of Genius explores the meaning of this contested term, and the unexpected motivations of those we have dubbed "genius" throughout history, from Charles Darwin and Marie Curie to Leonardo Da Vinci and Andy Warhol to Toni Morrison and Elon Musk.
-
-
Inspiring read especially for the neurodivergent
- Écrit par Lena Rose Cimolai le 2024-10-21
Auteur(s): Craig Wright
-
The Lumumba Plot
- The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination
- Auteur(s): Stuart A. Reid
- Narrateur(s): Michael Boatman
- Durée: 18 h et 15 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
It was supposed to be a moment of great optimism, a cause for jubilation. The Congo was at last being set free from Belgium—one of seventeen countries to gain independence in 1960 from ruling European powers. At the helm as prime minister was charismatic nationalist Patrice Lumumba. Just days after the handover, however, the Congo’s new army mutinied, Belgian forces intervened, and Lumumba turned to the United Nations for help in saving his newborn nation from what the press was already calling “the Congo crisis.”
-
-
Lumumba
- Écrit par Rick Reid le 2024-05-02
Auteur(s): Stuart A. Reid
-
In Search of a Kingdom
- Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire
- Auteur(s): Laurence Bergreen
- Narrateur(s): Michael Page
- Durée: 13 h et 25 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
In this grand and thrilling narrative, the acclaimed biographer of Magellan, Columbus, and Marco Polo brings alive the singular life and adventures of Sir Francis Drake, the pirate/explorer/admiral whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history.
-
-
High adventure, war and the birth of England.
- Écrit par Jesse Bongfeldt le 2023-05-31
Auteur(s): Laurence Bergreen
-
Plays Well with Others
- The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Relationships Is (Mostly) Wrong
- Auteur(s): Eric Barker
- Narrateur(s): Roger Wayne
- Durée: 6 h et 55 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
In Plays Well With Others, Eric Barker dives into these questions, drawing on science to reveal the truth beyond the conventional wisdom about human relationships. Combining his compelling storytelling and humor, Barker explains what hostage negotiation techniques and marital arguments have in common, how an expert con-man lied his way into a twenty-year professional soccer career, and why those holding views diametrically opposed to our own actually have the potential to become our closest, most trusted friends.
-
-
Very relatable and relevant
- Écrit par Sally Arsenault le 2023-10-09
Auteur(s): Eric Barker
-
The Things We Make
- The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans
- Auteur(s): Bill Hammack
- Narrateur(s): Jonathan Todd Ross
- Durée: 7 h et 43 min
- Version intégrale
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
For millennia, humans have used one simple method to solve problems. Whether it's planting crops, building skyscrapers, developing photographs, or designing the first microchip, all creators follow the same steps to engineer progress. But this powerful method, the "engineering method", is an all but hidden process that few of us have heard of—let alone understand—but that influences every aspect of our lives.
-
-
I was out at Cis-gendered bicycle riders
- Écrit par Potashdrone le 2023-09-25
Auteur(s): Bill Hammack
Ce que les critiques en disent
"Winchester's writing style is straightforward, which makes it effective in audio. He spices his narrative with numerous interesting facts and ironies, which make listening even more pleasurable. He defines technical and scientific terms in a way that makes it easy for general listeners to understand them. Winchester also does the narration, adopting a conversational tone that is highly suited to the work." (AudioFile)
Ce que les auditeurs disent de The Perfectionists
Moyenne des évaluations de clientsÉvaluations – Cliquez sur les onglets pour changer la source des évaluations.
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
- Heidi Unrau
- 2019-02-05
Compelling Listen, Great Narration
Loved the story and all of the facts. Narrator easy to listen to. I am going to listen to another book of his this month.
Un problème est survenu. Veuillez réessayer dans quelques minutes.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
- Roberta W
- 2024-03-31
Good
I liked this book, but not as much as I have liked Simon’s other books. I found it a wee bit hard to get into, yet there were certain aspects that drew me in completely: precision ground mirrors (think Hubble), computer chips, Swiss watches. I think there is something for everyone here.
Un problème est survenu. Veuillez réessayer dans quelques minutes.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
- Jeff S. Wiebe
- 2020-04-19
Interesting and Informative
Enjoyed overall. I found the earlier and mid chapters more engrossing than last few, but no complaints.
Un problème est survenu. Veuillez réessayer dans quelques minutes.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
- Peter MacLeod
- 2019-04-08
This in its way, gets it right, so to speak
Perfection is elusive in many ways unless you explain its drive in some to make what we produce and how we know how well we have done, as explained by Simon Winchester. The book is not an account of the obsessions of a few but how the drive for perfection has become such an integral part of our everyday lives. As technology continues to evolve so does our ability to make improvements in our lives in ways this book makes fascinatingly clear. There is a pleasant blend of "I never realized that!" to well, most of the cornerstones of our lives from production to the measurement of time. You will never see or speak of a Rolls the same way again, or a Ford for that matter. It makes enlightenment a pleasure.
Un problème est survenu. Veuillez réessayer dans quelques minutes.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
- Ed Chinaski
- 2021-01-19
Best Listen of my Audible career to date
Of you enjoy wrenching, building, crafting, machining, metal fabrication
this is a must listen or read
Un problème est survenu. Veuillez réessayer dans quelques minutes.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
1 personne a trouvé cela utile
-
Au global
-
Performance
-
Histoire
- Derek Dwyer
- 2018-09-21
Providing excitement to dry topics
#Audible1. As always, Mr. Winchester is able to take what would often be considered a dry subject, and weave a true story that both teaches and captivates.
Un problème est survenu. Veuillez réessayer dans quelques minutes.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.
Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.