Along these lines: I found Infrastructure by Brian Hayes to be a great book & recommend it to anyone on HN who agrees w/ above comment (or really, just about anyone on HN).
The book (and TV series) "Connections" by James Burke is a very interesting peek into just how interconnected technology is.
The one that amazed me was how the technology of the auto loom lead to the computer (via punch cards). Again, this won't give you insight into the math of things, but it will show you how one innovation lead to another.
http://www.amazon.com/Infrastructure-Field-Guide-Industrial-...