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Atom Bomb to Santa Claus: What have the Americans ever done for us? by Trevor Homer is a look at the innovations and innovators of America. Homer is a British Amateur Champion golfer. He represented England seventeen times, winning the European Team Championship in 1973, and Great Britain and Northern Ireland eleven times.

What makes bragging about the US something worth reading? Americans are taught about our country’s greatness all through their schooling. We have a president that preaches that America was great and can be great again. In this case, the author is British. I will say its nice to hear a foreigner talk about what the United States gave to the world without it being about the NFL and McDonald’s in a sarcastic tone. Not only does the book provide a balanced look at America for those in Britain, but it is also a good review for Americans.

There are a variety of people mentioned in the book as well as inventions. Willis S Shockey invented the wind-up razor. The more familiar Schick used his military experience to make better shaving systems. Frisbees, canned beer, and beat poetry became the best things since sliced bread (also a US invention). The US became the Gold Standard, then did away with it making the dollar the world currency. A well-done history of sorts that reflects the lighter side as well as some trivial things that made significant changes in the way we do things. Nicely done.
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Markeret
evil_cyclist | 1 anden anmeldelse | Mar 16, 2020 |
Hello, fellow Americans! We have been having a bit of an image problem of late and truthfully we aren't looking quite as good as we used to, especially in comparison to some other countries which I shall not name.

Leave it to a Brit to remind us of our amazing legacy in Atom Bomb to Santa Claus! Basically a book of trivia on American inventions and inventors and artists in all categories of life, readers will be amazed at just what America can be thanked (or blamed) for.

Like air conditioning, first installed in 1924 at Detroit's J. L. Hudson Department store.

Author Trevor Homer briefly traces the history of shaving, including the Perrett "safety" razor that had a blade set in a wooden guard. But it took Americans King Camp Gillette, William Painter and William Nickerson to create the safety razor with disposable blades (thereby creating an eternal after-market).

Today across the world people of every class wear jeans, with zippers, both American born.

Bubblegum! Sliced bread! Coco-Cola! Liquid Paper! Kentucky Fried Chicken! Post-it Notes!Bubble Wrap! Where would we be without bubble wrap to pop? The hamburger and the hot dog and pizza as we know it--all American cuisine--as is the chocolate chip cookie and potato chips.

Okay, let's get serious now. The computer mouse, the Internet, email, Facebook, GPS, search engines, and video games--all American inventions. And credit cards and ATMs. Then there is rocket science and Frisbees that look like flying saucers. Don't forget Robber Barons and the megastores Amazon and Wal-Mart. Even criminals and hate groups and judicial punishments get their due! (Not as inspiring a chapter. Nor is the Weapons of War, from the revolver to the Atom Bomb.)

Howard covers music, too. Jazz and Rock and Roll and Punk and all the dance crazes and the machines we played records on, the Gramophone and the Jukebox (patented in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1905). And writers and architects and sports heroes and fashion designers.

I love the chapter on Unlikely Inventors. Where else would I learn that George Washington created the wine coaster to protect his linen tablecloths? Or that the swivel chair I sit on while typing this was an invention by Thomas Jefferson? Actor Steve McQueen invented the bucket seat for his racing cars and Zeppo Marx of the Marx Brothers invented the clamp which held the atomic bomb safe within the Enola Gay.

Then there are the movers and shakers of the world of invention, the Masters of Change, visionary inventors, moral leaders, and Thomas Nast, artist of political cartoons whose portrayal of Santa Claus set the standard which was later embellished by Coca-Cola's iconic Santa Claus ads.

Medical advancements and inventions include the polio vaccine (thanks to Henrietta Lack's immortal cells) and heart surgery to Botox and Viagra.

Howard ends his collection with a reminder of the basic Freedoms that are enjoyed in America, noting that while we may be far from a Utopia, we are still an example of what can be achieved in a free country.

Thank you, Mr. Howard, for reminding us.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
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Markeret
nancyadair | 1 anden anmeldelse | Nov 5, 2018 |
The Book of Origins covers topics ranging from Art to Zoo, listing the origins of many things I'd always taken for granted or just never stopped to wonder about. It's too dry to read cover to cover but ok in bits here and there.
 
Markeret
wandaly | 1 anden anmeldelse | Jun 30, 2016 |
 
Markeret
Lunapilot | 1 anden anmeldelse | Jul 19, 2016 |

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4
Medlemmer
166
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#127,845
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½ 3.3
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4
ISBN
8
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