Who would have guessed that the first sports bra was made out of two jockstraps sewn together or that it succeeded because of federal anti-discrimination laws? What do simple decisions about where to build a road or whether to buy into the carbon economy have to do with Hurricane Katrina or the Fukushima nuclear disaster? How did massive flood control projects on the Mississippi River and New Deal dams on the Columbia River lead to the ubiquity of high fructose corn syrup? And what explains the creation-and continued popularity-of the humble fish stick? In Fish Sticks, Sports Bras, and Aluminum Cans, historian Paul R Josephson explores the surprising origins, political contexts, and social meanings of ordinary objects. Drawing on archival materials, technical journals, interviews, and field research, this engaging collection of essays reveals the forces that shape (and are shaped by) everyday objects. Ultimately, Josephson suggests that the most familiar and comfortable objects-sugar and aluminum, for example, which are inextricably tied together by their linked history of slavery and colonialism-may have the more astounding and troubling origins. Students of consumer studies and the history of technology, as well as scholars and general readers, will be captivated by Josephson's insights into the complex relationship between society and technology.

Josephson draws readers into the complexities and fascinations of the study of technological history. A lively and provocative book. -- David E. Nye, University of Southern Denmark, author of Technology Matters: Questions to Live With

About the Author
Paul R. Josephson is a professor of history at Colby College. He is the author of Would Trotsky Wear a Bluetooth? Technological Utopianism under Socialism, 1917-1989 and The Conquest of the Russian Arctic.

Reviews
Josephson's conclusions are guaranteed to make you think of the modern world and its interconnectedness in a different light. 'Sometimes,' he writes 'you should just say, no, refuse that new-fangled fish stick or aluminum soda can or smart phone or online source.' Cosmos ... At its best is original and instructive and compresses a great deal of technical material into a brief and readable form. British Journal for the History of Science



Book Information
ISBN 9781421417837
Author Paul R. Josephson
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 318g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 14mm