{"product_id":"the-mantra-of-efficiency-jennifer-karns-alexander-9780801886935","title":"The Mantra of Efficiency: From Waterwheel to Social Control","description":"\u003cp\u003eWinner, 2010 Edelstein Prize, Society for the History of Technology\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEfficiency--associated with individual discipline, superior management, and increased profits or productivity--often counts as one of the highest virtues in Western culture. But what does it mean, exactly, to be efficient? How did this concept evolve from a means for evaluating simple machines to the mantra of progress and a prerequisite for success?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this provocative and ambitious study, Jennifer Karns Alexander explores the growing power of efficiency in the post-industrial West. Examining the ways the concept has appeared in modern history--from a benign measure of the thermal economy of a machine to its widespread application to personal behaviors like chewing habits, spending choices, and shop floor movements to its controversial use as a measure of the business success of American slavery--she argues that beneath efficiency's seemingly endless variety lies a common theme: the pursuit of mastery through techniques of surveillance, discipline, and control. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSix historical case studies--two from Britain, one each from France and Germany, and two from the United States--illustrate the concept's fascinating development and provide context for the meanings of, and uses for, efficiency today and in the future.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jennifer Karns Alexander\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0801886937\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780801886935\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Johns Hopkins University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/01\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.09lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.06h x 6.46w x 0.87d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eReference and Research Bk News\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2008 pg. 119","brand":"Jennifer Karns Alexander","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48086873047295,"sku":"9780801886935","price":58.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c44f74e8-2aad-46f1-967c-5e044fe2d88f.jpg?v=1769097073","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-mantra-of-efficiency-jennifer-karns-alexander-9780801886935","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}