Help me find this book on low-tech inventions?

June 26, 2009 5:45 PM

Looking for the author name and title of a book my high school teacher stole from me in 1981. The subject matter was lots of low-tech inventions and designs with instructions, with the idea that they'd help underdeveloped communities. One I remember was a radio receiver made out of cow dung, a tin and some wire. I also remember thinking at the time that the author's name was like that of Boris Pasternak but it wasn't him. My google-fu is failing me. Can you help?
posted by Kerasia to Technology (5 answers total)

Best answer: Don't know which book specifically but the author is probably Victor Papanek. Amazon link to his books.
posted by iconomy at 6:01 PM on June 26, 2009 [1 favorite]

I hope someone finds it. That sounds amazingly interesting.
posted by DMan at 6:04 PM on June 26, 2009

Best answer: Yes, following iconomy's lead, it looks like it's Papanek's Design for the Real World. There's a review and a picture of the radio here.
posted by gubo at 6:12 PM on June 26, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks so much!
posted by Kerasia at 7:09 PM on June 26, 2009

A similar title is What the World Needs Now: A Resource Book for Daydreamers, Frustrated Inventors, Cranks, Efficiency Experts, Utopians, Gadgeteers, Tinkerers and Just about Everybody Else (Paperback)
posted by mearls at 5:14 AM on June 27, 2009