Most Popular Books by Patrick McCray

The story of the visionary scientists who invented the future In 1969, Princeton physicist Gerard O''Neill began looking outward to space colonies as the new frontier for humanity''s expansion. A decade later, Eric Drexler, an MIT-trained engineer, turned his attention to the molecular world as the place where society''s future needs could be met using self-replicating nanoscale machines. These modern utopians predicted that their technologies could transform society as humans mastered the ability to create new worlds, undertook atomic-scale engineering, and, if truly successful, overcame their own biological limits. The Visioneers tells the story of how these scientists and the communities they fostered imagined, designed, and popularized speculative technologies such as space colonies and nanotechnologies. Patrick McCray traces how these visioneers blended countercultural ideals with hard science, entrepreneurship, libertarianism, and unbridled optimism about the future. He shows how they built networks that communicated their ideas to writers, politicians, and corporate leaders. But the visioneers were not immune to failure—or to the lures of profit, celebrity, and hype. O''Neill and Drexler faced difficulty funding their work and overcoming colleagues'' skepticism, and saw their ideas co-opted and transformed by Timothy Leary, the scriptwriters of Star Trek, and many others. Ultimately, both men struggled to overcome stigma and ostracism as they tried to unshackle their visioneering from pejorative labels like "fringe" and "pseudoscience.? The Visioneers provides a balanced look at the successes and pitfalls they encountered. The book exposes the dangers of promotion—oversimplification, misuse, and misunderstanding—that can plague exploratory science. But above all, it highlights the importance of radical new ideas that inspire us to support cutting-edge research into tomorrow''s technologies.

When the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957, thousands of ordinary people across the globe seized the opportunity to participate in the start of the Space Age. Known as the "Moonwatchers," these largely forgotten citizen-scientists helped professional astronomers by providing critical and otherwise unavailable information about the first satellites. In Keep Watching the Skies!, Patrick McCray tells the story of this network of pioneers who, fueled by civic pride and exhilarated by space exploration, took part in the twentieth century''s biggest scientific endeavor. Around the world, thousands of teenagers, homemakers, teachers, amateur astronomers, and other citizens joined Moonwatch teams. Despite their diverse backgrounds and nationalities, they shared a remarkable faith in the transformative power of science--a faith inspired by the Cold War culture in which they lived. Against the backdrop of the space race and technological advancement, ordinary people developed an unprecedented desire to contribute to scientific knowledge and to investigate their place in the cosmos. Using homemade telescopes and other gadgets, Moonwatchers witnessed firsthand the astonishing beginning of the Space Age. In the process, these amateur scientists organized themselves into a worldwide network of satellite spotters that still exists today. Drawing on previously unexamined letters, photos, scrapbooks, and interviews, Keep Watching the Skies! recreates a pivotal event from a perspective never before examined--that of ordinary people who leaped at a chance to take part in the excitement of space exploration.

The essential role that the oldest literary technology—books—played in making computers popular and pervasive. In README, historian Patrick McCray argues that in order for computers to become ubiquitous, people first had to become interested in them, learn about them, and take the machines seriously. A powerful catalyst for this transformation was, ironically, one of the oldest information technologies we have: books. The author uses a carefully chosen selection of books, some iconic and others obscure, to describe this technological revolution as it unfolded in the half century after 1945. The book begins with a fundamental question: How does a new technology become well-known and widespread? McCray answers this by using books as a window into significant moments in the history of computing, books, publishing, and American culture. README offers a literary history of computers and, more broadly, information technologies between World War II and the dot.com crash of the early twenty-first century. From the electronic brains and cybernetics craze of the 1940s to the birth of AI, the rise of the personal computer, and the Internet-driven financial frenzy of the 1990s, books have proven a durable and essential way for people to learn how to use and think about computers. By offering a readable half-century of bookish history, README explains how computers became popular and pervasive.

Every night, astronomers use a new generation of giant telescopes at observatories around the world to study phenomena at the forefront of science. By focusing on the history of the Gemini ObservatoryÑtwin 8-meter telescopes located on mountain peaks in Hawaii and ChileÑGiant Telescopes tells the story behind the planning and construction of modern scientific tools, offering a detailed view of the technological and political transformation of astronomy in the postwar era. Drawing on interviews with participants and archival documents, W. Patrick McCray describes the ambitions and machinations of prominent astronomers, engineers, funding patrons, and politicians in their effort to construct a modern facility for cutting-edge scienceÑand to establish a model for international cooperation in the coming era of Òmegascience.Ó His account details the technological, institutional, cultural, and financial challenges that scientists faced while planning and building a new generation of giant telescopes. Besides exploring how and why scientists embraced the promise and potential of new technologies, he considers how these new tools affected what it means to be an astronomer. McCrayÕs book should interest anyone who desires a deeper understanding of the science, technology, and politics behind finding our place in the universe.

The transformation of the Venetian glass industry during the Renaissance was not only a technical phenomenon, but also a social one. In this volume, Patrick McCray examines the demand, production and distribution of glass and glassmaking technology during this period and evaluates several key topics, including the nature of Renaissance demand for certain luxury goods, the interaction between industry and government in the Renaissance, and technological change as a social process. McCray places in its broader economic and cultural context a craft and industry that has been traditionally viewed primarily through the surviving artefacts held in museum collections. McCray explores the social and economic context of glassmaking in Venice, from the guild and state level down to the workings of the individual glass house. He tracks the dissemination of Venetian-style glassmaking throughout Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and its effects on Venice’s glass industry. Integrating evidence from a wide variety of sources - written documents such as shop records and recipe books, pictorial representations of glass and glassmaking, and the careful physical and chemical analysis of glass pieces that have survived to the present - he examines the relation between consumer demand and technological change. In the process, he traces the organizational changes that signified a transition from an older and more traditional manner of ’artisan’ manufacture to a modern, ’factory-style’ manner of production.

The creative collaborations of engineers, artists, scientists, and curators over the past fifty years. Artwork as opposed to experiment? Engineer versus artist? We often see two different cultural realms separated by impervious walls. But some fifty years ago, the borders between technology and art began to be breached. In this book, W. Patrick McCray shows how in this era, artists eagerly collaborated with engineers and scientists to explore new technologies and create visually and sonically compelling multimedia works. This art emerged from corporate laboratories, artists'' studios, publishing houses, art galleries, and university campuses. Many of the biggest stars of the art world—Robert Rauschenberg, Yvonne Rainer, Andy Warhol, Carolee Schneemann, and John Cage—participated, but the technologists who contributed essential expertise and aesthetic input often went unrecognized. Coming from diverse personal backgrounds, this roster of engineers and scientists includes Frank J. Malina, the American rocket pioneer-turned-kinetic artist who launched the art-science journal Leonardo, and Swedish-born engineer Billy Klüver, who established the group Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T). At schools ranging from MIT to Caltech, engineers engaged with such figures as artist Gyorgy Kepes and celebrity curator Maurice Tuchman. Today, we are in the midst of a new surge of corporate and academic promotion of projects and programs combining art, technology, and science. Making Art Work reveals how artists and technologists have continually constructed new communities in which they exercise imagination, display creative expertise, and pursue commercial innovation.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs arguably revolutionized how people work and communicate. Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey pioneered new ways to connect socially. Sergey Brin and Larry Page created a way to navigate the massive World Wide Web. Together, these men rise above the rest as icons in the world of technology, and their stories are as interesting as their work. Cover by famed artist George Amaru.

Britney Spears - the most famous superstar of the 21st century! What does it take to reach those heights in the Internet Age? What are the hidden costs when every move makes the headlines? More than an entertainment powerhouse... more than a dancer and musician... Britney Spears is a survivor!

For the first time ever, one of Rock ''N'' Roll Comics most acclaimed series is collected and back in print! The Elvis Presley Experience is both scholarly and dramatic in its graphic recreation of the King''s remarkable life story. Though the series was among the best selling contemporary bio-graphic comics of the 1990s, the individual issues have been out of print for over ten years. This 200 page collection features art by future Marvel and DC star Aaron Sowd (Wolverine, Hawkman, Nightwing & Flamebird, etc.), with a story co-scripted by Babylon 5 TV vet Patrick McCray (Star Wars: Sith Apprentice, Star Trek: The Continuing Mission).

Jack Dorsey is the co-founder of Twitter, a social media platform like none other that allows users to have their voice broadcast to the masses, 140 characters at a time. With Twitter, Dorsey has managed bridge the social gaps that entrepreneurs have been trying to close for years; friends are connecting with far-away friends, companies are finally reaching their customers in a new and unique way, and celebrities are tweeting directly at their fans in every corner of the world. Learn about the man behind the phenomenon in "Jack Dorsey: Co-Founder of Twitter." As featured on CNN, Time Magazine, People Magazine, LA Times, Forbes, and MSNBC! Orbit is a comic book biography series that focuses on the people that have made a difference in the world! Read about the world of Jack Dorsey in comic book form!

BRIDE OF MONSTER SERIAL is the inevitable sequel to MONSTER SERIAL, a collection of essays published in 2013 by the award-winning COLLINSPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY. The second book in the series continues the theme of exploring a love for horror cinema, focusing on both popular and obscure films. It''s an eclectic collection where movies like THE DEVIL''S RAIN sit comfortably alongside films like NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, THE FLY and THE TOXIC AVENGER.

Betty White: Golden Girl Goes Platinum traces the amazing life of the actor, writer, wit, and humanitarian who has also been Hollywood''s most enduring "it girl" for over sixty astounding years. From the earliest days of television to the cutting edge of Facebook and SNL, Betty always makes the scene! As featured on CNN, FOX News, Time Magazine, The Washington Post, LA Times, OK Magazine, and MSNBC! Female Force is a series that features biographies on strong, independent women that have made a difference in the world. Read about the world of Betty White in comic book form!

From the imagination of bestselling author John Saul comes Blackstone Asylum. Dr. Malcolm Metcalf''s sadistic legacy. Madhouse. Torture chamber. As the town of Blackstone plans its demolition, a dark stranger is determined to keep the evils of the past alive. Can writer Oliver Metcalf prevent the curse of his father''s asylum before it consumes him

An irreverent and insightful guide to the world of television''s landmark gothic horror series, Dark Shadows.