Man and technology: how humanity thrives in a changing world

Technology shadows us from the moment we are born to the moment we die. Our story cannot be told without telling the story of technology, without understanding both how we mould it to our ever-changing purposes, and how, in turn, technology shapes our deepest needs and desires. In this anthology of essays, world-leading historians, academics and writers trace technology’s influence on industry and the economy, warfare and espionage, culture and communication, and ponder what the future holds in the continuously evolving relationship between man and technology. Contributing writers: Bruce Anderson, Clive Aslet, David J Betz, Ananyo Bhattacharya, Elisabeth Braw, Jimena Canales, Armand D’Angour, John Darlington, Maria Golia, Samuel Gregg, Katja Hoyer, Tim Jenkins, Andrew Keen, Alexander Lee, Richard J. Aldrich & Christopher Moran, Daniel T. Potts, Suzanne Raine, Joshua Rovner, Brendan Simms, Constance Simms, Nick Spencer, Hew Strachan, Helen Thompson, Sharon Weinberger and Andrew Wilton.

About the Author :
Elisabeth Braw is a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she focuses on defence and deterrence against Grey Zone threats. She is also a columnist with Foreign Policy, where she writes on national security and the globalised economy. Before joining AEI, Elisabeth was a Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, whose Modern Deterrence project she led. Prior to that, she worked at Control Risks, a global risk consultancy. Elisabeth is also a member of the steering committee of the Aurora Forum (the UK–Nordic–Baltic leader conference), a member of the UK National Preparedness Commission and an Associate Fellow at the European Leadership Network. Elisabeth started her career as a journalist, reporting for Newsweek, the Christian Science Monitor and the international Metro group of newspapers, among others. She regularly writes op-eds, including for the Financial Times, Politico, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (writing in German) and the Wall Street Journal. She is also the author of God’s Spies: The Stasi’s Cold War Espionage Campaign Inside the Church, about the Stasi. Armand D'angour is a Professor of Classics at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. He is the author of numerous articles and chapters on the literature and culture of ancient Greece and (as a former professional cellist) has conducted innovative research into reconstructing early Greek music. His books include The Greeks and the New: Novelty in Ancient Greek Imagination and Experience. His latest book How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking was published in 2021. Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian and journalist. She is a Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Katja writes for the Washington Post, The Spectator, Die Welt and other newspapers on current political affairs in Germany and Europe. She is the author of the bestselling Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire, 1871–1918. Sir Hew Strachan, FBA, FRSE, has been Wardlaw Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews since 2015. He is a Life Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was successively a Research Fellow and Fellow from 1975 to 1992, and an Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. His recent publications include The First World War: To Arms, The First World War: A New Illustrated History (based on his ten-part series for Channel 4) and The Direction of War: Contemporary Strategy in Historical Perspective. Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge. She contributes a fortnightly column to the New Statesman.