I like this book, which describes who made what, and when: http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Technology-Earliest-D/dp... up until 1900. This book itself is compiled from a multi-volume set that, as far as I can tell, is no longer in print.

pg's suggestion is probably a little different--pick a subject that holds your intererest rather than slogging through the entire history (there are also a couple of technology-specific history books here): http://www.paulgraham.com/raq.html