Hitting the Books: Meet Richard Arkwright, the world's first tech titan

You didn't actually believe all those founder's myths about tech billionaires like Bezos, Jobs and Musk pulling themselves up by their bootstraps from some suburban American garage, did you? In reality, our corporate kings have been running the same playbook since the 18th century when Lancashire's own Richard Arkwright wrote it. Arkwright is credited with developing a means of forming cotton fully into thread — technically he didn't actually invent or design the machine, but developed the overarching system in which it could be run at scale — and spinning that success into financial fortune. Never mind the fact that his 24-hour production lines were operated by boys as young as seven pulling 13-hour shifts.InBlood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech — one of the best books I've read this year — LA Times tech reporter Brian Merchant lays bare the inhumane cost of capitalism wrought by the industrial revolution and celebrates the workers who stood against those first tides of automation: the Luddites.Hachette Book GroupExcerpted from Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant. Published by Hachette Book Group. Copyright © 2023 by Brian Merchant. All rights reserved.The first tech titans were not building global information networks or commercial space rockets. They were making yarn and cloth. A lot of yarn, and a lot of cloth.Like our modern-day titans, they started out as entrepreneurs. But until the nineteenth century, entrepreneurship was not a... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-09-11 20:50:45 UTC ]
News tagged with: #company insists #independent contractors #endemic culture #automating cloth-making #founders aim #artificial intelligence

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Hitting the Books: The women who made ENIAC more than a weapon

After Mary Sears and her team had revolutionized the field of oceanography, but before Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson helped put John Glenn into orbit, a cadre of women programmers working for the US government faced an impossible task: train ENIAC, the world's first ... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-10-16 14:30:01 UTC ]
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Hitting the Books: What the wearables of tomorrow might look like

Apple's Watch Ultra, with its 2000-nit digital display and GPS capabilities, is a far cry from its Revolutionary War-era self-winding forebears. What sorts of wondrous body-mounted technologies might we see another hundred years hence? In his new book, The Skeptic's Guide to the Future, Dr.... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-10-01 14:30:47 UTC ]
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Book World began on Watergate’s heels: A look back at the early days

Michael Dirda recalls a time of typewriters and landlines, of putting together a newspaper section that captured the joy of literature and love of reading. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-22 15:00:54 UTC ]
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Reintroducing Book World

The Washington Post’s books section starts its new chapter, in print every Sunday and with a refurbished and revitalized presence online. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-21 15:00:01 UTC ]
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Hitting the Books: What if 'Up' but pigeons?

We all have those thoughts, the ones that come to us in the small hours of the night. Who am I? Why are we here? What if my cellphone ran on vacuum tubes instead? Randall Munroe has the answer to, well, only one of those questions, but also the answers to a whole bunch of others collected... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-09-18 15:00:37 UTC ]
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4 witchy books from the world of science fiction and fantasy

Megan Giddings, Emily Lloyd Jones, Sangu Mandanna and Desideria Mesa add new twists to a popular subgenre. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-17 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Hitting the Books: Newfangled oceanographers helped win WWII using marine science

Lethal Tides tells the story of pioneering oceanic researcher Mary Sears and her leading role in creating one of the most important intelligence gathering operations of World War II. Languishing in academic obscurity and roundly ignored by her male colleagues, Sears is selected for command by... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-09-04 15:00:53 UTC ]
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How the Karma’s World Doll Launch Became a Meeting Ground for Brands and Culture

Karma's World is officially making its mark, and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges couldn't be happier. That's because it took the award-winning rapper, actor, producer and now children's book author over a decade to bring the animated children's program to audiences. Now, the show and its titular... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2022-08-25 15:59:04 UTC ]
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A Former Nickelodeon Star’s Memoir Has Become the Summer’s Big Hit Book. It’s Very Clear Why.

I’m Glad My Mom Died details the abuse the iCarly actor suffered as a child star. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2022-08-18 20:31:47 UTC ]
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UNESCO Names Strasbourg Its World Book Capital 2024

France's Strasbourg is to begin its tenure as UNESCO's World Book Capital on April 23, 2024, as Accra concludes its year in the role. The post UNESCO Names Strasbourg Its World Book Capital 2024 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-07-20 20:26:21 UTC ]
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‘The Crane Wife’ essay hit a nerve. A new book reminds us why.

C. J. Hauser’s memoir-in-essays is a frank exploration of intimacy and romance that doesn’t always lead to a happily ever after. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-05 13:21:38 UTC ]
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Dredd zone: the anarchic world of comic-book artist Steve Dillon

His groundbreaking work on such seminal characters as Judge Dredd, Preacher and Punisher is being celebrated with a posthumous show of his remarkable legacyThere are few artists who exemplify the anarchic, irreverent and anti-authoritarian British take on the comic book the way Steve Dillon... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-06-30 13:00:06 UTC ]
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Hitting the Books: Summer reading list

More than a million new titles are published annually in the US, far more than even the most bibliophilic secret agent could get through. Even with a weekly publishing schedule, we can only bring you 52 Hitting the Books each year. To help shine a spotlight on all the fantastic stories that... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-06-22 17:30:23 UTC ]
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Meet Linda Sunshine, Groundbreaking Book Trade Comics Editor

Linda Sunshine established comics reprint imprints at both Harmony Books and Fireside in the 1970s that produced some of the earliest hardcover and trade paperback comics collections in the book trade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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U.S. Book Show: Oscar Isaac Enters the World of Comics

The actor and producer spoke with Heidi MacDonald about the graphic novel 'Head Wounds: Sparrow,' out from Legendary in June, which he codeveloped with a team of writers, artists, and friends. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Biz Stocks Take a Hit

A tough year for the stock market got worse in April, leading the Publishers Weekly Stock Index, now down to only six companies, to drop 8.8%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hitting the Books: Dodge, Detroit and the Revolutionary Union Movement of 1968

After decades on the decline intro, America's labor movement is undergoing a massive renaissance with Starbucks, Amazon and Apple Store employees leading the way. Though the tech sector has only just begun basking in the newfound glow of collective bargaining rights, the automotive industry has... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-05-01 14:00:34 UTC ]
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Romance Set in the Book World: Is It Just Me, or Is It a Trend?

Books about books have always been super popular, but there are a lot of romance novels set in the publishing world in 2022. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-04-29 10:34:00 UTC ]
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World Book & Copyright Day: India’s Publishing Conference

The challenges of intellectual property protection in an age of digital distribution are at the heart of the Indian publishers' free program. The post World Book & Copyright Day: India’s Publishing Conference appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-04-22 15:58:07 UTC ]
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Germany’s World Book Day: ‘I’ll Give You a Story’ of a Secret Lake

The 26th iteration in Germany of the 'I'll Give You a Story' project brings reading and environmentalism to schoolkids this year. The post Germany’s World Book Day: ‘I’ll Give You a Story’ of a Secret Lake appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-04-20 18:49:10 UTC ]
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