Robert Friedel is a professor of the history of technology and science at the University of Maryland, College Park. He lives in Washington, D.C.
"How the ingenious zipper, a newfangled, unwanted novelty, became a
ubiquitous part of daily life is the story told in this engaging
chronicle peopled by a colorful cast of characters."
*Publishers Weekly*
Today the zipper seems a commonplace if not insignificant piece of our lives. Behind this tiny piece of technology, however, lies a story rich in manufacturing, economics, fashion, engineering, and , most importantly , personalities. Friedel, a historian of technology, examines all these topics in this tale of the ``hookless fastener'' (a.k.a., the zipper) from its 1890s origin through the 40 years of refinement and eventual acceptance in the 1930s and up to the present day. Enjoyable and readable, Friedel's saga of the zipper provides him with the perfect means to peer inside technology's origin, revealing its capacity to fill needs and showing how novelty pushes us to the future. Recommended for all collections.-- Michael D. Cramer, Virginia Polytechnic & State Univ. Libs., Blacksburg
"How the ingenious zipper, a newfangled, unwanted novelty, became a ubiquitous part of daily life is the story told in this engaging chronicle peopled by a colorful cast of characters." -- Publishers Weekly
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