To commemorate the 145th anniversary of Popular Science, this gorgeous, full-color, fun, and lively collection of retro covers and artwork from the magazine´s archives explores all those far-flung inventions that never quite made it off the drawing board - from flying cars to self-driving lawnmowers. A lot has happened since 1872, the first year that Popular Science hit the newsstand. From the introduction of the automobile in 1879 to the dropping of the A-bomb in 1945, from the first time a cell phone rang in 1973 to the first flyby of Pluto in 2015, Popular Science has been there and chronicled it all. The Future Then steps you through this illustrious history of scientific and technological breakthroughs, diving deep into the magazine´s archives to share fascinating cover art and articles from the time the big news hit. Broken down by decade, each chapter opens with a discussion of the era´s advancements and includes special breakouts on the beloved artists behind the charming illustrations, themed spreads that track the evolution of those once-hot technologies, and clever insights into how the past century´s near misses led us to true innovation gold.