內容簡介
從五十項革命現代經濟的發明看人類歷史
英國《金融時報》超人氣專欄作家、《親愛的臥底經濟學家》作者提姆．哈福德（Tim Harford）新作！
英國廣播公司國際頻道（BBC World Service）廣播節目「50 Things That Made the Modern Economy」衍生作，介紹五十項革命現代經濟的發明與背後故事。
本書藉由五十項革命現代經濟的發明與背後故事，描繪人類歷史的進程。從明顯為現代人類生活帶來重大轉變的iPhone和Google，到較早期的發明如紙張、燈泡、電梯、時鐘，到早已是現代世界不可或缺的條碼、護照、銀行系統與巨無霸客機，作者除了介紹重要發明與其幕後功臣的小故事，也揭露它們與看似毫無關聯的事件與現象之間的關聯，如條碼為什麼導致街角小店逐漸消失？《達文西密碼》和雷曼兄弟公司的破產有什麼關係？留聲機為什麼會擴大不平等的狀況？
本書介紹五十項發明如何為人類生活帶來重大轉變，也探討我們可以從中學到什麼啟示，以作為未來發明的靈感，是結合歷史、經濟與傳記的有趣作品。
Fifty Inventions that Shaped the Modern Economy paints the epic picture of economic change in an intimate way, by telling the stories of tools and ideas that had far-reaching and unexpected consequences.Tim Harford is a senior columnist for the Financial Times and the presenter of Radio 4's More or Less. He was the winner of the Bastiat Prize for economic journalism in 2006, and More or Less was commended for excellence in journalism by the Royal Statistical Society in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Harford lives in Oxford with his wife and three children, and is a visiting fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. His other books include The Undercover Economist, The Logic of Life and Adapt.
