Glass

Alan Macfarlane and Gerry Martin's Glass: A World History reveals how our knowledge of the world is determined by what we can see in it. Only with the invention of glass ten thousand years ago was human vision freed from the limitations of human anatomy. In western Europe, the Renaissance, Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution expanded our vision further by providing new ways to work with glass. Today, we look through microscopes, telescopes, and computers, using glass invented in ancient Rome to perform cutting-edge scientific studies. With Glass: A World History, readers will come away with a renewed appreciation for the transformative power of this familiar material.