Work : a deep history, from the Stone Age to the age of robots / James Suzman.
Work defines who we are; it determines our status, mediates our self-worth and molds our values. Suzman charts a grand history of "work" from the origins of life on Earth to our more automated present. Along the way he challenges some of our deepest assumptions about who we are, and argues that we are in the midst of a transformative point in history. -- adapted from jacket
Record details
- ISBN: 9780525561750
- ISBN: 0525561757
- Physical Description: x, 444 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
- Publisher: New York : Penguin Press, 2021.
- Copyright: ©2020
Content descriptions
General Note: | "First published in Great Britain by Bloomsbury Circus, part of the Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2020."--Title page verso. |
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Introduction: The economic problem -- In the beginning. To live is to work ; Idle hands and busy beaks ; Tools and skills ; Fire's other gifts -- The provident environment. "The original affluent society" ; Ghosts in the forest -- Toiling in the fields. Leaping off the edge ; Feasts and famines ; Time is money ; The first machines -- Creatures of the city. The bright lights ; The malady of infinite aspiration ; Top talent ; The death of a salaryman ; The new disease -- Conclusion. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Work > History. |
Genre: | Instructional and educational works. |
Available copies
- 8 of 8 copies available at Missouri Evergreen. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at North Kansas City.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 8 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Kansas City Public Library | 331.09 SUZMAN 2021 (Text) | 0001002433785 | Nonfiction | Available | - |
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Work : A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots
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Summary
Work : A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots
"This book is a tour de force." -- Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take A revolutionary new history of humankind through the prism of work by leading anthropologist James Suzman Work defines who we are. It determines our status, and dictates how, where, and with whom we spend most of our time. It mediates our self-worth and molds our values. But are we hard-wired to work as hard as we do? Did our Stone Age ancestors also live to work and work to live? And what might a world where work plays a far less important role look like? To answer these questions, James Suzman charts a grand history of "work" from the origins of life on Earth to our ever more automated present, challenging some of our deepest assumptions about who we are. Drawing insights from anthropology, archaeology, evolutionary biology, zoology, physics, and economics, he shows that while we have evolved to find joy meaning and purpose in work, for most of human history our ancestors worked far less and thought very differently about work than we do now. He demonstrates how our contemporary culture of work has its roots in the agricultural revolution ten thousand years ago. Our sense of what it is to be human was transformed by the transition from foraging to food production, and, later, our migration to cities. Since then, our relationships with one another and with our environments, and even our sense of the passage of time, have not been the same. Arguing that we are in the midst of a similarly transformative point in history, Suzman shows how automation might revolutionize our relationship with work and in doing so usher in a more sustainable and equitable future for our world and ourselves.