The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm Paperback – March 10, 2015

Lewis Dartnell has written this book to describe how to rebuild the infrastructure of civilization from scratch. It is NOT a book on basic survival skills, but a roadmap on how science and technology was built and can be rebuilt.He writes:"This is a survivors' guidebook. Not one just concerned with keeping people alive in the weeks after the Fall -- plenty of handbooks have been written on survival skills -- but one that teaches how to orchestrate the rebuilding of a technologically advanced civilization."- from page 2 of INTRODUCTIONHe describes some of the knowledge and processes needed to "reboot" civilization by rebuilding technology and touches briefly on the basics of shelter, water, food, fuel, medicine and off-grid electric power. He suggests that with a good knowledge of the history of science and technology, it is possible to streamline that process and "leapfrog" some sections that were not needed to reach later points in the timeline. He goes into a little more depth in describing AGRICULTURE in Chapter 3 and FOOD AND CLOTHING in Chapter 4.The most interesting part of the book begins with Chapter 5 on Substances. He describes the importance of using thermal energy beyond that of a simple fire in the processes of: smelting, forging, casting, glass working, making salt, burning lime, firing bricks and more. He describes the extraction of calcium carbonate from limestone and burning it in a hot kiln to create calcium oxide which is in turn combined with water to make hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide). These steps form a foundation for later chemical processes that involve making soap, ammonia, glue, gunpowder and plastics. The chapter continues to describe the chemistry of wood pyrolisis, which involves collecting vapor from baked wood to make methanol, acetone and tars or drive a combustion engine. The chapter is completed with a brief discussion of acids.MATERIALS is the topic of Chapter 6 and it builds nicely on the previous discussion with sections on clay, lime mortars, metals and glass. Crude clay can be fired at high temperature to make ceramics which turn out to be very useful with both chemistry and later electronics, in both cases because it mostly stays not involved with process changes. Clay is a primary source for aluminum. Lime mortar led to cement which had a huge impact on building technology. Ceramics, cement and clay are instrumental in making high temperature kilns and furnaces. It is possible to melt salvaged aluminum, like soda cans, in a small furnace and using a sand casting process, produce simple parts to make a working metal lathe. The metal lathe can reproduce itself as well as make more complex metal working machines like the milling machine. This project is thoroughly documented in a small 7-book series called, "Build Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scrap" by David and Vincent Gingery. This is great example of Dartnell's concept of accelerating development by leapfrogging.The book continues with chapters on MEDICINE, POWER, TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATION, ADVANCED CHEMISTRY and one titled TIME AND PLACE which deals with timekeeping, clocks and navigation. The final chapter, THE GREATEST INVENTION, is about the scientific method and its application.In order for this book to really accomplish what it suggests, it would need to be much larger. There are missing pieces that would be needed to complete the rebuilding of advanced technology. For instance: in order to recreate modern electronics, we need advanced lenses and optics, photographic emulsion chemistry (which is covered in this book), more on electrolysis and plating, modern electronics and more advanced knowledge. Maybe this is reason for Dartnell to consider a "part two" book. But this book is a great start and should be considered a must for any complete survival library or collection on the history of science and technology.It is also extremely well annotated and referenced and from a knowledge management viewpoint is work the price of the book just for the knowledge map it provides to other sources. To be fair, there is some missing detail in some areas, but in most cases, it seems like the detail is available in the referenced material. A perfect example is the section on building your own metal shop. Dartnell cannot cover all the material in the small seven book series he references, but he does cover enough of the overall idea to make it clear what great potential is there and then references the source to make it available to the reader.

This book has purpose beyond what to do at The End Of The World As We Know It. The Knowledge explains, in basic layman's terms, a multitude of topics describe much of the technology we take for granted in today's world. Topics cover the origins and history of many essential technologies that make up modern life.Well indexed with an extensive bibliography, you can learn as much, or as little about everyday technologies that make life as we know it.

An interesting read but kinda boring

The most visible technology we use daily is just the tip of a vast iceberg – not only in the sense that it's based on a great manufacturing and organizational network that supports production, but also because it represents the heritage of a long history of advances and developments. The iceberg extends unseen through both space and time.-- From The Knowledge by Lewis Dartnell*****Anyone who thinks civilization is indestructible doesn't get out much.The past is heaped in ruin. The future harbors the chance of natural and/or man-made cataclysm. Our present appears more than a little shaky.Like our bodies, it's quite possible that something vital will one day give 'way. The system-as-a-whole clutches its collective chest and expires, gasping. Is crushed by falling rock. Or brought low by hurled, nuclear-tipped spear.What then?The Knowledge by Lewis Dartnell goes a long way toward answering that question. He provides an over-view of means by which that our world might re-boot itself from little more than scratch. A tool-kit of core, synergetic technologies with which industrial society has been achieved. Yet it is not prescriptive; this Knowledge empowers the future but leaves it to find its own way.Along the way, Dartnell provides a fascinating tour through the 'engine-room' of our industrial world. He illuminates its essential functions, interdependencies and history. Cataclysm or no, his book will have you looking with new eyes at the ubiquitous, taken-for-granted substances and artifacts permeating our lives. Should cataclysm befall us... well... it's a magnificently conceived gift to the future.The Knowledge is a tour de force which should appeal, not just to Doomers such as myself, but to any who yet feel the Renaissance passion for the Knowledge of our own times. That lauded and once valued Jack-or-Jill-of-all trades-kind of Knowledge that deepens our appreciation for our world, and extends our reach within it.Wonderful book, and I mean full of wonders! I return to its pages time and again, as seeds it has sown bloom within me.The Knowledge initiates a magnificent and, I believe, vital project.To my mind, it succeeds where many have failed to strike that narrow balance between too much and too little. It accepts its limitations and goes a long way toward persuading those who may be so moved, that a 'stitch in time' is a worthy goal.Where it is, perhaps, improvable has more to do with presentation than content; the not trivial task of speaking effectively to persons not yet born, and who inhabit a world homo sapiens has never seen. For them, the great torch of technology – from fire to the Clovis point to the germ theory – handed from generation to generation may well have been dropped.Lewis Dartnell has taken up the part of Prometheus, offering fire to the future.Godspeed!*****As with technology, The Knowledge is but the tip of an iceberg. Visit The-Knowledge.org to participate in re-booting the future.

We are all god at what we were trained to do , but we know little about other crafts and sciences . I am hungry for knowledge , and like many people , I want to know how things are made . This young author has put together this book for us . Lewis knowledge is phenomenal . The fact that he tells us how we can rebuild from " scratch " adds so muchflavor .Really good book .Of course , if you want to get phD in some branch of technology , go to school ; reading a book is not enough .

Good broad overview of the history of technology and the complexity of supply chains in our modern world. But it was a missed opportunity to provide a reference work with detailed information on these technologies. What is in the book is good, it focuses on the key industries for our society, but I would have like to have seen a bunch of supplementary technical material that would have been necessary to give some depth to understanding these industries.On the bright side, it has a good and expansive bibliography, but in some ways it's too big unless you have access to a major research library. A shorter list of recommended continued reading would have been nice.