Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Winner of the 1996 Dexter Prize from the Society for the History of Technology and a 1996 Choice Outstanding Academic Book

"A splendid history of plastic. The book is authoritative, thorough, interdisciplinary, and intriguing. . . [Meikle] traces the course of plastics from 19th-century celluloid and the fist wholly synthetic bakelite, in 1907, through the proliferation of compounds (vinyls, acrylics, polystyrene, nylon, etc.) and recent ecological concerns. . . .Interested readers of whatever predisposition will likely enjoy this comprehensive and thoughtful treatise."-- Publishers Weekly

"A landmark account. . . . He combines a first-rate technological history with a most impressive cultural analysis of how plastics evolved from a material surrounded by utopian expectations to a material epitomizing inferiority and eventually to a part of everyday life. . . . One of the most significant works ever written in the history of American technology and culture."

-- Nature

"[A] truly outstanding work . . . here is a work of intellectual strength written with great literary style. . . . This significant work is likely to be widely cited in academic circles, defining the field for a generation of readers. Don't let it pass you by! An extraordinary contribution, for all levels of readers."-- Choice

"This is real interdisciplinary work, roaming in focus, adaptive in method."-- Journal of American History

"This scholarly and comprehensive work . . . is nontechnical and emphasizes the social and cultural impact of plastics. . . . Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in understanding contemporary society."-- Library Journal

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

While many people would like to think that this is the Information Age, we are in fact living in the Age of Plastics. Since 1979 the production of plastic has far outpaced that of steel. It is doubtful that any of us could envision our world without plastics. From the Barbie dolls we grew up with to the cars we drive, for better or worse, plastics have shaped the world we live in. This scholarly and comprehensive work, by an American studies professor and author of Twentieth Century Limited: Industrial Design in America, 1925-1938 (Temple Univ. Pr., 1981), is nontechnical and emphasizes the social and cultural impact of plastics. Meikle's book is so enjoyable that this reviewer began underlining and writing margin notes while reading. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in understanding contemporary society.-James Olson, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Meikle, professor of American studies and art history at the University of Texas, presents a splendid history of plastic. The book is authoritative, thorough, interdisciplinary and intriguing. As aptly characterized in the preface, ``the narrative itself takes on a certain plasticity, touching in turn on the histories of technology and invention, of industry and marketing, of industrial design and consumer culture.'' The author adroitly balances the different perspectives. He traces the course of plastics from 19th-century celluloid and the first wholly synthetic bakelite, in 1907, through the proliferation of compounds (vinyls, acrylics, polystyrene, nylon, etc.) and recent ecological concerns. Amply considered in context are the cultural influences of plastics, which sprang from the original motives of ``substitution, imitation, and innovation'' to condition our present perceptions, language, lifestyles and expectations. The general attitude of the public toward this industry is ambivalent; the historical details prove instructive. Interested readers of whatever predisposition will likely enjoy this comprehensive and thoughtful treatise. Illustrations. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

The signature of the ages of humanity is materials: Stone Age, Iron Age, Bronze Age, etc. And our own age? The Age of Plastics, chronicled here in a sweeping cultural history that will satisfy the scientist and technologist as much as the reader seeking the seeds of the social and historical dimensions of American plastic (not plastics), a carefully (and well) chosen title. From this truly outstanding work, polymer chemists and physicists and plastics engineers will glean special benefits from chapters dedicated to celluloid, Bakelite, and nylon, as well as the treatment of other major classes of synthetic polymers and plastics scattered throughout. Titles and topics of other chapters can only be described as beguiling in their simplicity and subtlety, for here is a work of intellectual strength written with great literary style. The "notes" at the end of the work are copious, annotated, up-to-date, and appear to be accurate to a fault. In 300 pages, Meikle provides a definitive resource for scholarly research in the history and sociology of this most important and characterizing science of our century, a cultural history of plastic's presence in American life. No matter what one may call these materials, this significant work is likely to be widely cited in academic circles, defining the field for a generation of readers. Don't let it pass you by! An extraordinary contribution, for all levels of readers, in the sciences and engineering, and in the arts and humanities. L. W. Fine Columbia University

Author notes provided by Syndetics

JEFFREY L. MEIKLE is a professor of American studies and art history at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also serves as director of the American Studies Program. He is the author of Twentieth Century Limited: Industrial Design in America, 1925-1939.