000			03653cam a22003494a 4500
001			2011028696
003			DLC
005			20190729104658.0
008			110714s2011 nyua b 001 0 eng
010			_a 2011028696
020			_a9781616144814 (cloth : alk. paper)
020			_z9781616144821 (ebook)
020			_a1616144815 (cloth : alk. paper)
035			_a(OCoLC)ocn726821375
040			_aDLC _cDLC _dYDX _dBTCTA _dYDXCP _dGO3 _dSNM _dVP@ _dABG _dCDX _dTXBWN _dBWX _dBDX _dMOF _dNSB _dDLC
042			_apcc
049			_aEY8Z
050	0	0	_aTA439 _b.C588 2011
082	0	0	_a620.1/36 _223
100	1		_aCourland, Robert, _d1952-
245	1	0	_aConcrete planet : _bthe strange and fascinating story of the world's most common man-made material / _cRobert Courland.
260			_aAmherst, N.Y. : _bPrometheus Books, _c2011.
300			_a396 p. : _bill. ; _c24 cm.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505	0		_aOrigins -- Towering ziggurats, concrete pyramids, and Minoan mazes -- The Gold Standard -- Concrete in Mesoamerica and Renaissance Europe -- The development of modern concrete -- Refinements, reinforcement, and proliferation -- The wizard and the architect -- The concretization of the world -- The bad news -- The good news.
520			_aConcrete: We use it for our buildings, bridges, dams, and roads. We walk on it, drive on it, and many of us live and work within its walls. But very few of us know what it is. We take for granted this ubiquitous substance, which both literally and figuratively comprises much of modern civilization's constructed environment; yet the story of its creation and development features a cast of fascinating characters and remarkable historical episodes. This book delves into this history, offering intriguing details as the author describes how some of the most famous personalities of history became involved in the development and use of concrete, including King Herod the Great of Judea, the Roman emperor Hadrian, Thomas Edison (who once owned the largest concrete cement plant in the world), and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The author points to recent archaeological evidence suggesting that the discovery of concrete directly led to the Neolithic Revolution and the rise of the earliest civilizations. Much later, the Romans reached extraordinarily high standards for concrete production, showcasing their achievement in iconic buildings like the Coliseum and the Pantheon. Amazingly, with the fall of the Roman Empire, the secrets of concrete manufacturing were lost for over a millennium. The author explains that when concrete was rediscovered in the late eighteenth century it was initially viewed as an interesting novelty or, at best, a specialized building material suitable only for a narrow range of applications. It was only toward the end of the nineteenth century that the use of concrete exploded. During this rapid expansion, industry lobbyists tried to disguise the fact that modern concrete had certain defects and critical shortcomings. It is now recognized that modern concrete, unlike its Roman predecessor, gradually disintegrates with age. Compounding this problem is another distressing fact: the manufacture of concrete cement is a major contributor to global warming. This book is filled with incredible stories, fascinating characters, surprising facts, and an array of intriguing insights into the building material that forms the basis of the infrastructure on which we depend.
650		0	_aConcrete _xHistory.
948			_au350890
949			_aTA439 .C588 2011 _wLC _c1 _hEY8Z _i33039001207710
596			_a1
903			_a22301
999			_c22301 _d22301