- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Atlantic Books; illustrated edition edition (9 Aug 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843545845
- ISBN-13: 978-1843545842
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 16.6 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
194,126 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11 in Books > History > World History > 1901-1913
- #25 in Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Industrial Revolution
- #37 in Books > History > Social & Economic History > Industrialisation
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More About the Author
Product Description
Kathryn Hughes, Guardian
`Subtle and varied.'
Brian Morton, Sunday Herald
`Ambitious... clear-sighted... fascinating... Instead of simply replacing one set of triumphalist myths with an alternative one, Weightman practises real history.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is one of a number of recent history books that are academically well researched, but are so well written with the layman in mind, that interest is maintained throughout and a truly remarkable story emerges. Rather than just concentrating on any one country's response to the industrial revolution, Gavin Weightman lays greater emphasis on the transmission of ideas between countries and continents, concentrating less on the well known (and often unjustifiably praised) pioneer inventors and more on the entrepreneurs or "fixers" who were ideas men who got unsung engineers in to turn their dreams into reality. What was especially fascinating for me were the stories relating to how Japan came late to industrialism but how within 50 years they had virtually caught the rest of the industrialised nations up.
There is an extensive bibliography for those who want to delve deeper into individual aspects of this subject, as it has to be admitted this is a sketch of what is obviously a much wider subject. Still it is a very good, interesting and thought provoking sketch which should appeal to anyone interested in this era of history.
One caveat would have to be that there are numerous typographical errors, stray hyphens and commas in my paperback edition which suggests that the proofs were just spell checked rather than read, but this is a minor quibble.
There is an extensive bibliography for those who want to delve deeper into individual aspects of this subject, as it has to be admitted this is a sketch of what is obviously a much wider subject. Still it is a very good, interesting and thought provoking sketch which should appeal to anyone interested in this era of history.
One caveat would have to be that there are numerous typographical errors, stray hyphens and commas in my paperback edition which suggests that the proofs were just spell checked rather than read, but this is a minor quibble.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Once again Gavin Weightman had me reading faster and faster to absorb the addictively interesting content of his book. So many books on the industrial revolution concentrate on the nuts and bolts of the inventions but in Gavin's book we are shown the human side of the evolution of modern technology along with the competitive spirit and political influences. The book gallops along at a pace telling us what happened in England but also within the context of Europe and the USA as well as other parts of the world. I'll bet not many people know the family history of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the context of the French Revolution and how he came to be in England but it is all in this treatment of the Industrial Revolution - from the people perspective. I thoroughly recommend the book, not only to realise that the UK made a significant contribution to all that manufacturing that we have now exported but to celebrate the many unsung heroes that the book tells us about, when most people's knowledge is limited to Arkwright, Watt and Brunel.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is the perfect introduction for anyone wanting to learn of the origins of industry between 1776 and 1914. The chapters flow with interesting insights into the pioneers and inventors around the world at that time, with the end of one chapter acting as the introduction to the next.
It certainly removes some of the myths and legends that surround the inventions of the time, especially the Morse code chapter.
The books covers all the major technologies of the time in Europe and America in a most readable and non stuffy way.
A must for anyone interested in the history of this period.
It certainly removes some of the myths and legends that surround the inventions of the time, especially the Morse code chapter.
The books covers all the major technologies of the time in Europe and America in a most readable and non stuffy way.
A must for anyone interested in the history of this period.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A classic history of the Industrial Revolution?
In the days when patents were vague and engineering drawing was so bad it was child's play, the only way technology could be transplanted was to entice the artisans abroad. Read more
Published 8 months ago by James-philip Harries
What a great read and full of information
A really good read easy to follow. Introduces many characters that have been missed by history. Provides a really good reason why and how things happened and flows really well. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Bob D
Industrial Revolutionaries
A fascinating and very detailed account of the work of a very large number of people who, taken together, were responsible for much of the man-made environment in which we live... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2010 by Mr. E. L. Hitchcock
A very easy read
This book provides interesting light relief for anyone reading the more academic or technical stuff concerned with the Industrial Revolution. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2010 by Yangonite
Good Book
Provides an insight into the forces (financial, economic and social) and people who helped to shape the world as we see it today.
Published on 10 Aug 2009 by Ola K
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