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Concrete: A Seven-Thousand-Year History

2010

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Synopsis

For seven thousand years concrete has periodically shaped the path of human progress. Reese Palley’s fascinating history of this ubiquitous and versatile material chronicles the repeated and often centuries-long losses of the technology and its many reemergences and the cultural, scientific, and engineering accomplishments it has enabled.

Palley takes us from concrete’s earliest beginnings, including the startling proof that at least one of the pyramids was partially poured, through the building of the Eddystone Light, to the dramatic building explosion in the use of concrete during the twentieth century and the start of the twenty-first century. He discusses the environmental impact of the production of concrete and attempts to find substitutes for the burning of lime. He ends by contemplating outer space, where almost all of the elements needed to build extraterrestrial communities already exist in the chemical makeup of the moon and Mars.

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Concrete: From Ancient Origins to a Problematic Future

Concrete explores the history of a material that has been central to architecture and design for thousands of years―and what its future looks like in a world experiencing rapid climate change. Imagine what the world would be like without concrete: there’d be no high-rises, no grand irrigation proje...

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Concrete and Culture: A Material History

Concrete has been used in arches, vaults, and domes dating as far back as the Roman Empire. Today, it is everywhere—in our roads, bridges, sidewalks, walls, and architecture. For each person on the planet, nearly three tons of concrete are produced every year. Used almost universally in modern const...

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