Vintage Tomorrows; a historian and a futurist journey through steampunk into the future of technology

Farnham: O'Reilly, 2013. First edition (stated). Paperback. Extremely mild rubbing to spine head and foot, exceedingly gentle rubbing to covers, bright pages, binding is tight, else Near Fine(+).. Black-yellow octavo, xx, 397 pages, b&w illustrations; 23 cm. Inscribed and signed by author. "What would today's technology look like with Victorian-era design and materials? That's the world steampunk envisions: a mad-inventor collection of 21st century-inspired contraptions powered by steam and driven by gears. In this book, futurist Brian David Johnson and cultural historian James Carrott explore steampunk, a cultural movement that's captivated thousands of artists, designers, makers, hackers, and writers throughout the world. Just like today, the late 19th century was an age of rapid technological change, and writers such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells commented on their time with fantastic stories that jumpstarted science fiction. Through interviews with experts such as William Gibson, Cory Doctorow, Bruce Sterling, James Gleick, and Margaret Atwood, this book looks into steampunk's vision of old-world craftsmen making beautiful hand-tooled gadgets, and what it says about our age of disposable technology. Steampunk is everywhere--as gadget prototypes at Maker Faire, novels and comic books, paintings and photography, sculptures, fashion design, and music. Discover how this elaborate view of a history that never existed can help us reimagine our future."--Publisher's website. Contents: A futurist and a cultural historian walk into a bar -- Beats, pranksters, hippies, steampunks! -- Technology that ships broken -- A world-destroying death ray should look like a world-destroying death ray -- Steampunk: A dinner in three courses -- Prelude: A note from the historian -- It's about chickens and teapots -- Digging into the past -- History has sharp edges -- Punking time in Key West -- The answer's in our own backyard -- Makers and burners -- Pop goes steampunk -- Prelude: A note from the futurist -- Humor is the new killer app -- Don't forget the humans -- When is an iPhone like a pocket watch? -- We must design a better future -- Humanity in the machine -- We want to remember a time when our lives were not made of plastic -- What's next? Steampunk culture, Cultural studies.