Subtitle: Notes for a Revised History of Technology
Author: Autumn Stanley
Subject: History of Technology/Womens Studies/Science/History of Science
Paper ISBN 0-8135-2197-1
Pages: 708 pp.

"An indispensable reference tool."--Choice

"A clearly written volume which the non-academic can easily and enjoyably read."--New Moon Parenting

"Invaluable. There is nothing else with as much information between two covers on the market."--Ruth Schwartz Cowan, President, Society for the History of Technology

Women invent. But who knows the names of women inventors or what they devised? Mothers and Daughters of Invention challenges centuries-old stereotypes about both gender and technology. This highly original work redefines technology to encompass the entire range of tools, techniques, and processes used by humans. From digging sticks to dishwashers, from contraceptives to computers, Autumn Stanley documents women's technological creativity from prehistory to our own day, in five major areas of invention: agriculture, medicine, reproductive technology, machines, and computers. The volume's wealth of examples, biographical sketches, and lists of patents issued to women makes it the first encyclopedia of women inventors.

This first paperback edition of Mothers and Daughters of Invention contains the full text of the 1993 hardcover edition, but in fewer pages, in a more convenient format, and at a much more affordable price. Indispensable for any student, scholar, or teacher in the history of technology and women's studies, it also makes wonderful browsing for the general reader.

Autumn Stanley is an independent feminist scholar from Portola Valley, California. A member of the Institute for Historical Study (Berkeley, California), she has published widely on gender roles and on women in science and technology. She is currently working on a book on gender and technology.