Rapidly developing technological innovation and mass production have become such hallmarks of our industrialized world that we may fail to consider the events and individuals that laid the groundwork for our many conveniences today. Beginning in Europe in the mid-18th century, the Industrial Revolution continued growing and spreading as innovators around the world began modifying old machinery and methods for production or creating new ones. This lively volume profiles a number of the minds behind some of history’s greatest industrial advances, including Robert Fulton, Margaret Knight, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford.

In Georgian London, Henry Maudslay started an engineering works that was to become world famous, and not just for the engines it made, but also for the engineers who received their training there and went on to bigger and better things. At a time when engineering and machines were in their infancy, the designers and engineers at Maudslay's soon became famous. From Maudslay himself to Joseph Whitworth (who founded Armstrong Whitworth), David Napier (designer and builder of the first Cunard steamships), Richard Roberts (designer of power looms) and James Nasmyth (inventor of the steam hammer), the list of engineers of world repute is amazing. A fascinating study of what was the hotbed of British engineering in the early 1800s. Without these men the Industrial Revolution would not have been possible.

Inhaltsübersicht: Defining the Industrial Revolution, The Industrial Revolution, Chronology, Bibliography, Illustration Credits, Index.

"This book - based on the successful Radio 4 series - tells the engineers' story, showing how their work and lives interconnected to carry forward a saga that in the space of only two generations turned Britain from a pastoral into an industrial country and opened the way for the rest of the world to do the same."--BOOK JACKET.

The industrial revolution was the single most important development in human history over the past three centuries, and it continues to shape the contemporary world. With new methods and organizations for producing goods, industrialization altered where people live, how they play, and even how they define political issues. By exploring the ways the industrial revolution reshaped world history, this book offers a unique look into the international factors that started the industrial revolution and its global spread and impact. In the fourth edition, noted historian Peter N. Stearns continues his global analysis of the industrial revolution with new discussions of industrialization outside of the West, including the study of India, the Middle East, and China. In addition, an expanded conclusion contains an examination of the changing contexts of industrialization. The Industrial Revolution in World History is essential for students of world history and economics, as well as for those seeking to know more about the global implications of what is arguably the defining socioeconomic event of modern times.

This book describes how, in less than two hundred years, the United States changed from a rural, agricultural society into an industrial world power. It explores the inventions, ideas, and innovators who helped bring the Industrial Revolution from its roots in Great Britain to America. It traces the evolution of modern conveniences, luxurious consumer goods, developing cities, and the problems of urban living.