Moving Objects: A Cultural History of Emotive Design,

“Obsolescence and Disposal,” deals with end-of-use. In “Mending or Ending? Consumer Durables, Obsolescence and Practices of Reuse, Repair and Disposal in West Germany (1960s-1980s),” editor Heike Weber explores ideas about “durability” and “planned obsolescence” by looking at West Germany’s bulky waste collection. Finally, in “The Persistence of SS France: Her Unmaking at the Alang Shipbreaking Yard in India,” Ayushi Dhawan follows the trajectory of an ocean cruiser entering different periods of use and struggling to get scrapped. Both sections deal with persistence after obsolescence, but each chapter is distinct. In this distinction and without a general conclusion, the book is, like technology’s persistence beyond end-of-use, provocatively open-ended. Centered around temporalities of technology yet addressing a multitude of histories, the volume will serve a broad readership. It will interest historians of technology, but also designers and engineers, as it offers a much-needed alternative to what the editors call the “traditional innovation-centric research agenda” (10). It will appeal to historians and students of material culture because its temporal perspective can inspire studies of other artefacts. Finally, as it is a patchwork of essays, each contribution will engage its own audience. Krebs and Weber have curated a rich bundle of work focused on the upkeep and “unmaking” of technology: a bricolage of histories of technological persistence. It prompts a distinct approach, so the small focus on reuse and disposal is not so much an afterthought but rather an invitation to build on the work. Bricolage, like repair, has restorative qualities and so does this volume: it inspires new perspectives, provokes necessary discussions, and forms a building block for future work on time and technology.