Aramis, or, The love of technology
By: Bruno Latour ; translated by Catherine Porter.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 314
Subjects: Local transit -- France -- Paris Metropolitan Area.; Personal rapid transit -- France -- Paris Metropolitan Area.
Other titles: Aramis; Love of technology
Description: A guided-transportation system intended for Paris, Aramis represented a major advance in personal rapid transit: it combined the efficiency of a subway with the flexibility of an automobile. But in the end, its electronic couplings proved too complex and expensive, the political will failed, and the project died in 1987.

The story of Aramis is told by several different parties, none of which take precedence over any other: a young engineer and his professor, who act as detective to ferret out the reasons for the project's failure; company executives and elected officials; a sociologist; and finally Aramis itself, who delivers a passionate plea: technological innovation has needs and desires, especially a desire to be born, but cannot live without the sustained commitment of those who have created it.