Author Description

For this volume -- an engaging celebration of the years 1900 to 1999 -- design historian Mel Byars with Arlette Barre-Despond surveyed the best & most important designs of our time & selected a single object to represent each of the 100 years of the 20th century. Every example is accompanied by informative text & an historical timeline which reveals intriguing cultural, social, & political milestones. For instance, in 1918 the electric food beater & the refrigerator appeared & women were first allowed to vote in England. This handy book tells us about ourselves & who we have been through a panorama of fascinating, provocative, amusing, or purely utilitarian objects -- the tools of life. Color photos.