This volume tells stories about the tools we use, but these narratives are told in numbers rather than in words. Organized by various aspects of society, each chapter uses tables and statistics to examine everything from budgets, costs, sales, trade, employment, patents, prices, usage, access and consumption. In each chapter, each major topic is broken down into more specialized elements. The chapters are: (1) Basic Technology Indicators, including research and development, employment in science and technology, and patents, high-tech trade, and high-tech company formation; (2) Agriculture, including agricultural methods, farm equipment, and genetics and farming; (3) Business, Manufacturing, and Materials, including business technology, manufacturing technology, and materials technology; (4) Communications, including communication cables, communication equipment, communication services/costs/usage, and broadcasting; (5) Computers, including computer equipment, networks and the Internet, and databases, programming languages, and security; (6) Construction and Infrastructure, including buildings and components; (7) Consumer Products and Entertainment, including household appliances, other consumer products, and entertainment products; (8) Education and Libraries, including libraries and technology and technology in schools; (9) Energy and the Environment; (10) the Military and Law Enforcement; (11) Medicine and Biotechnology, including medical services and procedures, drugs and nutrition, and medical equipment; (12) Space, including global positioning systems and space commercialization, space debris, and spacecraft and space programs; and (13) Transportation, including transportation system, air transportation, rail and urban transport, cars and trucks, and alternative fuels, fuel efficiency, and vehicle emissions. Contains approximately 260 tables and figures. Includes a glossary and an index. (MES)