James May's 20th Century cover art

James May's 20th Century

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James May's 20th Century

By: James May, Phil Dolling
Narrated by: James May
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About this listen

Longlisted for the Audiobook Download of the Year, 2007.

How much should you pay for a return trip to the moon? How are Winnie the Pooh and the artificial heart related? Did teenagers exist before 1950? If not, who invented them? James May's 20th Century answers all these questions and more.

In this exclusive download released to tie-in with the BBC TV series, James May explores the iconic themes of the century: flight, space travel, television, mechanised war, medicine, computers, electronic music, skyscrapers, electronic espionage, and much more.

But he also reveals the hidden story behind why some inventions like the Zeppelin, the motorcycle side car, or the Theremin struggled to make their mark. He examines the tipping points � when technologies such as the car or the internet became unstoppable � and gets up close by looking at the nuts and bolt of remarkable inventions.

Packed with surprising statistics and intriguing facts, this is the ideal book for anyone who wants to know how stuff works and why some stuff didn't make it.

©2007 James May and Phil Dolling (P)2007 Hodder and Stoughton Audiobooks
20th Century History History & Culture Innovations Modern Technology Thought-Provoking War Aviation
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Most relevant  
As expected, a great compilation of small and interesting snippets of the 20th Century's most fascinating tinklings read to you by the one of the greatest english voices.

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