The cover of the fifth edition employs a striking photograph from Fritz Lang's famous 1927 film, Metropolis.  (See the Metropolis Film Archive for more information and other images related to this dark science fiction film.)  This edition, fittingly enough, was marked by the appearance of Leo Marx's essay, "Does Improved Technology Mean Progress?" which has opened all subsequent editions.  The topic of women and technology was also addressed in this edition.  Several chapters devoted to specific technologies (artificial intelligence, biotechnology, superconductors, and neonatal care) rounded out the last section.

Preface

1.  Thinking about Technology

Introduction

Does Improved Technology Mean Progress?
    Leo Marx

Visions
    Robert S. Morison

Can Technology Replace Social Engineering?
    Alvin M. Weinberg

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
    Robert M. Pirsig

The Control Revolution
    James R. Beniger

The Role of Technology in Society
    Emmanuel G. Mesthene

Technology:  The Opiate of the Intellectuals
    John McDermott

Technology and the Tragic View
    Samuel C. Florman

2.  Forecasting, Assessing and Controlling Technology

Introduction

Earth's Vital Signs
    Lester R. Brown, Christopher Flavin, and Edward C. Wolf

An Introduction to Technology Assessment
    Alan L. Porter, et al.

New Technology:  Predicting Its Impact
    Peter F. Drucker

An Unforeseen Revolution:  Computers and Expectations, 1935-1985
    Paul Ceruzzi

Choosing Our Pleasures and Our Poisons:  Risk Assessment in the 1980s
    William W. Lowrance

Controlling Technology
    Allan C. Mazur

3.  Reshaping Technology

Introduction

Buddhist Economics
    E. F. Schumacher

Can Technology Be Humane?
    Paul Goodman

A Modest Proposal
    John Todd

The Whale and the Reactor
    Langdon Winner

Expanding Access to Technology:  Computer Equity for Women
    Sandy Weinberg

Blue Collar Women
    Mary Lindenstein Walshok

4.  Using Technology

Introduction

Technology and Competitiveness: A Key to the Economic Future of the United States
    John A. Young

Special Care:  Medical Decisions at the Beginning of Life
    Fred M. Frohock

Superconductors:  The Long Road Ahead
    Simon Foner and Terry P. Orlando

The Industrial Impact of the Biological Revolution
    J. Leslie Glick

The Prospects for Building Truly Intelligent Machines
    David L. Waltz
 

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