1970-90: Computers and Chips

Children's Literature

While the 1960s were marked by great technological growth culminating in the 1969 lunar landing, the next twenty years were astounding in terms of further advances. Striking developments in fields such as electronics, computers, and medical science marked the years stretching across the 1970s and 1980s. During that period computers progressed from being devices most commonly used by governments or large businesses to become a common personal tool for people at home or work. In the aerospace field, space stations were built, satellites traversed the skies, and deep space probes sent back striking photographs of planets across our solar system. Physicians worked on cracking the genetic codes while using MRIs to assess internal tissue damage. Conversely, this was an age when the environmental effects of pollution were becoming clearer. It is these developments that Steve Parker highlights in the fifth volume of his "20th Century Science and Technology" series. Parker does an excellent job of describing, in brief, some of the key scientific developments of the 1970-1990 era. The author's clear descriptions and numerous illustrations afford readers an opportunity to understand some of the technological evolutions that set the stage for our own age.