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Watt's Perfect Engine: Steam and the Age of Invention (Revolutions in Science)

by Ben Marsden

Watt's Perfect Engine: Steam and the Age of Invention (Revolutions in Science) Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

As the inventor of the separate-condenser steam engine — that Promethean symbol of technological innovation and industrial progress — James Watt has become synonymous with the spirit of invention, while his last name has long been immortalized as the very measurement of power. But contrary to popular belief, Watt did not single-handedly bring about the steam revolution. His "perfect engine" was as much a product of late-nineteenth-century Britain as it was of the inventorĀ“s imagination.

As one of the greatest technological developments in human history, the steam engine was a major progenitor of the Industrial Revolution, but it was also symptomatic of its many problems. Armed with a patent on the separate-condenser principle and many influential political connections, Watt and his business partner Matthew Boulton fought to maintain a twenty-five-year monopoly on steam power that stifled innovation and ruthlessly crushed competition. After tinkering with boiling kettles and struggling with leaky cylinders for years without success, Watt would eventually amass a fortune and hold sway over an industry. But, as author Ben Marsden shows, he owed his astonishing rise as much to espionage and political maneuvering as to his own creativity and determination.

This is a tale of science and technology in tandem, of factory show-spaces and international espionage, of bankruptcy and brain drains, lobbying and legislation, and patents and pirates. It reveals how James Watt — warts and all — became an icon fit for an age of industry and invention.

Synopsis:

This book reveals how James Watt — inventor of the separate-condenser steam engine — became an icon fit for an age of industry and invention. Watt has become synonymous with the spirit of invention, while his last name has long been immortalized as the very measurement of power. But contrary to popular belief, Watt did not single-handedly bring about the steam revolution. His "perfect engine" was as much a product of late-nineteenth-century Britain as it was of the inventor's imagination.

About the Author

Ben Marsden is a lecturer in cultural history and the history of science at the University of Aberdeen.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780231131728
Subtitle:
Steam and the Age of Invention
Author:
Marsden, Ben
Author:
Jones, Gareth Stedman
Publisher:
Columbia University Press
Subject:
History
Subject:
Engineering - Mechanical
Subject:
Poverty
Subject:
Steam engines
Subject:
Economics - Macroeconomics
Subject:
Poverty -- History.
Copyright:
Series:
Revolutions in Science
Publication Date:
March 2004
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
224
Dimensions:
7.24x4.80x.69 in. .56 lbs.

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