Interesting general consumption books on technology?

[Sony Walkman Prophecies]

I'm after something for my Wired magazine obsessed brother. Does anyone know of any books that might be suitable? I recall someone on here mentioning a book on the history of tech a few months (someone else was criticising it for not containing anything about Hero of Alexandria) but can't find the thread now.

[alcoholic messiah]

I'm currently in the middle of The Information:

Winner of the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books 2012, the world's leading prize for popular science writing.

We live in the information age. But every era of history has had its own information revolution: the invention of writing, the composition of dictionaries, the creation of the charts that made navigation possible, the discovery of the electronic signal, the cracking of the genetic code.

In 'The Information' James Gleick tells the story of how human beings use, transmit and keep what they know. From African talking drums to Wikipedia, from Morse code to the 'bit', it is a fascinating account of the modern age's defining idea and a brilliant exploration of how information has revolutionised our lives.

If you think that sufficiently fits the 'technology' remit, I'd heartily recommend it.

[Famous Mortimer]

Aye, James Gleick has written some good stuff.