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Book Cover
E-book
Author Rees, Jonathan, 1966-

Title Refrigeration nation : a history of ice, appliances, and enterprise in America / Jonathan Rees
Published Baltimore : The Johns Hopkins University Press, [2014]

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Description 1 online resource
Series Studies in industry and society
Studies in industry and society.
Contents Introduction : The Cold Chain -- Inventing the Cold Chain -- The Long Wait for Mechanical Refrigeration -- The Decline of the Natural Ice Industry -- Refrigerated Transport Near and Far -- The Pleasures and Perils of Cold Storage -- "Who Ever Heard of an American Without an Icebox?" -- The Early Days of Electric Household Refrigeration -- The Completion of the Modern Cold Chain -- Conclusion : Refrigeration, Capitalism and the Environment
Summary Only when the power goes off and food spoils do we truly appreciate how much we rely on refrigerators and freezers. In this book, the author explores the innovative methods and gadgets that Americans have invented to keep perishable food cold - from cutting river and lake ice and shipping it to consumers for use in their iceboxes to the development of electrically-powered equipment that ushered in a new age of convenience and health. As much a history of successful business practices as a history of technology, this book illustrates how refrigeration has changed the everyday lives of Americans and why it remains so important. Beginning with the natural ice industry in 1806, the author considers a variety of factors that drove the industry, including the point and product of consumption, issues of transportation, and technological advances. This book also shows that how we obtain and preserve perishable food is related to our changing relationship with the natural world
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery -- United States -- History
Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery -- Social aspects -- United States -- History
Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery -- Economic aspects -- United States -- History
Cold storage industry -- United States -- History
Cold storage industry -- Social aspects -- United States -- History
Cold storage industry -- Economic aspects -- United States -- History
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Mechanical.
Cold storage industry
Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery
United States
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 1421411075
9781421411071