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Lewis Mumford
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The Myth of the Machine Hardcover – Import, January 1, 1967

by Mumford (Author), No Illustration (Illustrator)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 46 ratings
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Mumford explains the forces that have shaped technology since prehistoric times and shaped the modern world. He shows how tools developed because of significant parallel inventions in ritual, language, and social organization. “It is a stimulating volume, informed both with an enormous range of knowledge and empathetic spirit” (Eliot Fremont-Smith, New York Times). Index; photographs.
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  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harcourt, Brace and Co
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1967
  5. ISBN-10
    0436296047
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0436296048
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harcourt, Brace and Co; First Edition (January 1, 1967)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0436296047
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0436296048
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 46 ratings

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Lewis Mumford

Lewis Mumford

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
46 global ratings
Kindle version is all images
2 Stars
Kindle version is all images
This is a review of the Kindle version (B0BMSHBY13) format only and not regarding actual the content of the book.I was excited that a classic like this is available on Kindle at a low cost but then realized it's just a scan, (also landscape orientation instead of portrait) with this big gap in the middle and the pages aren't even lined up right as you can see from the image from the desktop/web reader. At least there's overlap and isn't missing anything but this is rather poor quality obviously. I kind of wonder if whoever that published it on Kindle actually has the copyright.
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Top reviews from the United States

Derrick Jensen
5.0 out of 5 stars vital books
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2004
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Lewis Mumford was one of the 20th century's most important philosophers, and the two-volume set Myth of the Machine (Volume 1 is Technics and Human Development; and Volume 2 is The Pentagon of Power) are probably his most important books: the summation of his life's work. In writing as elegant as it is clear, Mumford makes plain the death urge that has always underlain civilization, which Mumford calls "the machine," and later "the megamachine." This is a social structure organized not around any organic human needs, but around the "needs" of the machines that have come to characterize and control our lives. These are crucial, incisive, devastating books. I cannot praise them highly enough.
71 people found this helpful
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Bruce E Weber
5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely informative.
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2020
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An excellent book by a true scholar.
One person found this helpful
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Dan
5.0 out of 5 stars The whole story!
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2000
rather than the typical modern myths about mankind and its evolution - evoked by TV-series like "The X-Files" - this great book - as an amazing anthology of the human intellect - shows the "whole truth" ( that is not outhere by the way, but in our brains ) and how much we are going to lose of our human capacilities if we adore the principle of the machine!
17 people found this helpful
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Fran C.
1.0 out of 5 stars Kindle edition is printed sideways as images. Unable to request a refund
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2022
What gives? Kindle edition is printed sideways as images. Who approves these Kindle editions? Unable to request a refund.
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Fran C.
1.0 out of 5 stars Kindle edition is printed sideways as images. Unable to request a refund
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2022
What gives? Kindle edition is printed sideways as images. Who approves these Kindle editions? Unable to request a refund.
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer image
One person found this helpful
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Mark C
2.0 out of 5 stars Kindle version is all images
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is a review of the Kindle version (B0BMSHBY13) format only and not regarding actual the content of the book.

I was excited that a classic like this is available on Kindle at a low cost but then realized it's just a scan, (also landscape orientation instead of portrait) with this big gap in the middle and the pages aren't even lined up right as you can see from the image from the desktop/web reader. At least there's overlap and isn't missing anything but this is rather poor quality obviously. I kind of wonder if whoever that published it on Kindle actually has the copyright.
Customer image
Mark C
2.0 out of 5 stars Kindle version is all images
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2022
This is a review of the Kindle version (B0BMSHBY13) format only and not regarding actual the content of the book.

I was excited that a classic like this is available on Kindle at a low cost but then realized it's just a scan, (also landscape orientation instead of portrait) with this big gap in the middle and the pages aren't even lined up right as you can see from the image from the desktop/web reader. At least there's overlap and isn't missing anything but this is rather poor quality obviously. I kind of wonder if whoever that published it on Kindle actually has the copyright.
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer image
2 people found this helpful
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D. Richardson
5.0 out of 5 stars Very intelligent and provocative
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2022
Verified Purchase
Mumford is a deep thinker; it is rewarding to delve into his brain.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Alexander White
5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2023
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Every page gave insights that were intellectually stimulating. A real delight.
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Shawn Potvin
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome read well worth the incredible high price.
Reviewed in Canada on October 22, 2018
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Great insights!
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Elvis
1.0 out of 5 stars The death of hero.
Reviewed in Germany on June 21, 2018
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First of all, the physical quality of the delivered book and the delivery itself are not rated 1/5 but 5/5.
Second, there are some nice things in the book that are "groundbreaking" and you will guaranteed learn something new by reading this book (or should I rather say by fighting the boring parts till you reach good stuff that is 1 paragraph long).
Third, why 1 out of 5? Well, the title explains it all - "The death of hero.". I was reading many works that quote Lewis Mumford and quote him in a positive way. Then I watched his interview and was a little bit surprised. He was boasting that he abandoned typewriter, because he thought that he was too dependent on it and it is bad because it is a technology so he is a slave to this technology and if it breaks then he will be defeated by this technology. But then he says in a proud way that he learned to write properly and use pen and paper properly WHICH IS ANOTHER TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY!!!!?! But he ignored that fact!
Then I decided that he would probably have a better stance when writing, because writing requires a level of abstraction and analysis that was clearly missing from his interview.
Guess what?! The same thing!!! All throughout the book he was explaining how the "mega-machine" is bad and how it forces us to do things and forces us to desire things, but then at the end he admires Leonardo da Vinci by writing how good and abstracted from the mega-machine he was when buying birds at the local market and releasing them. Guess what?! IS NOT BUYING THINGS an furthering the economy and the mega-machine FURTHERS the mega-machine so the MORE birds are captured and sold?!!!?!
First and last book from Lewis that I will read in my life.
2 people found this helpful
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JM
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic
Reviewed in Japan on March 8, 2019
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I was reading some 'new' research on the Neantherthal's diet, but Mumford talked about this almost 50 years earlier. While reading this book I kept thinking what a wonderful documentary series this would make. If you want to understand where we came from I highly recommend this book. The scholarship is from a era when academics could actually write.
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Jamie B
5.0 out of 5 stars If you likes Sapiens, you’ll love this
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2018
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Better than Sapiens and Homo Deus. Dense but full of wild insight.
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