Megan Prelinger

In the early twentieth century, engineers learned to control the flow of electrons. Yet this epoch-making achievement-the underpinning of all electronics technologies to come-was not visible to the naked eye. Inside the Machine explores how a generation of commercial and fine artists conveyed this strange new world to the public. Together with engineers, they would transform the human sense of scale and possibility. Cultural historian Megan Prelinger offers a visual tour of this dynamic era, which saw advances and practical revolutions in automation, bionics, computer language, and even cybernetics. Along the way, she reveals the origins of everything from vacuum tubes and integrated circuits to motherboards and rocket ships. With more than 150 illustrations from commercial artwork of the day, Inside the Machine celebrates the collaboration among the makers, crafters, testers, and researchers of the twentieth century and the artists who lent images and understanding to the technologies of tomorrow.