From the beginning of the eighteenth century to the high water mark of the Victorian era, the world was transformed by a technological revolution the like of which had never been seen before. Inventors, businessmen, scientists, explorers all had their part to play in the story of the Industrial Revolution and in this "Brief History", Thomas Crump brings their story to life, and shows why it is a chapter in English history that can not be ignored. Previous praise for Thomas Crump's "A Brief History of Science": 'A serious and fully furnished history of science, from which anyone interested in the development of ideas ...will greatly profit' - A.C. Grayling, "Financial Times". 'Provides an enduring sense of the extraordinary ingenuity that defines our relationship with nature' - "Guardian". 'An excellent account...Crump writes with authority' - "TLS".
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About the Author
Thomas Crump used to teach Anthropology at Amsterdam University. He is the author of A Brief History of Science and A Brief History of the Age of Steam.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing book. Takes all the excitement out of 200 years of history.
4 Feb 2011
By Pontius
For a book that covers such an exciting and vibrant period of history, it's remarkably dull to read, with no easy flow to the narrative. The book could also do with some serious editing. For example, the prose is clunky and awkward, and clearly has had only a quick glance from an editor. Excessive and at time misplaced punctuation is common, sentences become incoherent half way through, and there is inconsistent use of abbreviations. For example: 1850-70, 1850-870, 1850-1870.
All very distracting. Not recommended.
All very distracting. Not recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By W. Loveridge
A well-researched book such as this, on an endlessly fascinating topic, should have been a great read. However it is let down by very poor editing. For example, excessively long compound sentences abound, peppered with commas, making the text stutter rather than flow, and there are many typographical errors, but far worse, there are glaring mistakes concerning the topic that are, no doubt, part of every writer's draft, but should have been picked up during revision and editing.
In a single sentence on page 92 we have Richard Roberts being born in 1789, and in 1790 taking out his first patent on an automatic, fully power driven mule: a remarkably precocious achievement! Elsewhere Robert Stephenson becomes (for a single page) Robert Stevenson, a mistake mirrored by the index. The Rainhill trials were held, we are told, on October 6th, 1830. As a direct result, the railway concerned bought Stephenson's "Rocket" and six similar locomotives, all delivered by the summer of 1830... wait a minute! Well, according to other sources, the Rainhill trials were held on October 6th, 1829. As a consequence of these and other errors that I did notice, I'm left wondering how many I didn't! Once an author has sown the seeds of doubt...
Clearly, Mr Crump is an authority on this subject. A great deal of travel and research appears to have gone into the book, making it so unfortunate that the effort tailed off over the keyboard. The poor editing is enormously distracting, and the blame lies squarely with Mr Crump for not exercising enough effort to check his manuscript; and the publisher for simply not caring. It is a great shame, because I almost enjoyed this book.
In a single sentence on page 92 we have Richard Roberts being born in 1789, and in 1790 taking out his first patent on an automatic, fully power driven mule: a remarkably precocious achievement! Elsewhere Robert Stephenson becomes (for a single page) Robert Stevenson, a mistake mirrored by the index. The Rainhill trials were held, we are told, on October 6th, 1830. As a direct result, the railway concerned bought Stephenson's "Rocket" and six similar locomotives, all delivered by the summer of 1830... wait a minute! Well, according to other sources, the Rainhill trials were held on October 6th, 1829. As a consequence of these and other errors that I did notice, I'm left wondering how many I didn't! Once an author has sown the seeds of doubt...
Clearly, Mr Crump is an authority on this subject. A great deal of travel and research appears to have gone into the book, making it so unfortunate that the effort tailed off over the keyboard. The poor editing is enormously distracting, and the blame lies squarely with Mr Crump for not exercising enough effort to check his manuscript; and the publisher for simply not caring. It is a great shame, because I almost enjoyed this book.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By J. Smy
A good little book for a quick run through the industrial revolution. It is written in an easy to absorb manner and is informative. I am still reading and enjoying it.
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