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From artificial hearts to pink flamingoes, Kevlar vests to credit cards, plastic has invaded every aspect of modern life. Surpassing wood, cotton, steel, and glass in all categories, it is more than just a product of modern society: it has revolutionized our entire way of life.aPlastic traces the obscure origins of synthetic materials to present a century''s worth of information on the fascinating inventors, speculators, and designers who ushered in the plastic invasion. Among the colorful characters are: John Wesley Harding, who pursued a quixotic quest to create the perfect billiard ball, and Wallace Carothers, who committed suicide just as the sexual revolution was about to be ushered in by his creation -nylon stockings. Written in the tradition of James Womack''s The Machine That Changed the World, this is a fresh look at a ubiquitous and nearly indestructible substance and the way it shaped our world.aA part history, part cultural critique, always irreverent, an in-depth look at America''s much-maligned but most practical material and how it has both mirrored and shaped American society.
