Watt′s Perfect Engine – Steam and the Age of Invention (Revolutions in Science) - Hardcover

Marsden, Ben

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231131720 ISBN 13: 9780231131728

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2020

Synopsis

Watt's Perfect Engine As the inventor of the separate-condenser steam engine, James Watt has become synonymous with the spirit of invention. This book shows he owed his astonishing rise as much to espionage and political manoeuvring as to his own creativity and determination. It is a tale of international espionage, of bankruptcy and brain drains, and lobbying. Full description

About this title

Review:

"Marsden declaims on the steam engine's putative inventor in a half-bemused, half-impressed tone that will amuse technology buffs in addition to giving them an appreciation for Watt's significance.... Crystal clear on technical points, Marsden is archly amusing in discussing how reputations are made." -- "Booklist"

"A lively historical coverage of how the engine evolved and reflected not only the promise, but the problems of the industrial revolution. A fine, wide-ranging history." -- "Bookwatch"

"An engagingly written little book." -- "Eighteenth-Century Scotland," Issue 20

"An informative and well-organized introduction to Watt... Recommended [for] general readers, lower-division undergraduates, and two-year technical program students." -- "Choice"

"An engagingly written little book." -- Eighteenth-Century Scotland, Issue 20

"An informative and well-organized introduction to Watt... Recommended [for] general readers, lower-division undergraduates, and two-year technical program students." -- Choice

"A lively historical coverage of how the engine evolved and reflected not only the promise, but the problems of the industrial revolution. A fine, wide-ranging history." -- Bookwatch

"Marsden declaims on the steam engine's putative inventor in a half-bemused, half-impressed tone that will amuse technology buffs in addition to giving them an appreciation for Watt's significance.... Crystal clear on technical points, Marsden is archly amusing in discussing how reputations are made." -- Booklist

"An engagingly written little book." -- "Eighteenth-Century Scotland", Issue 20

"An informative and well-organized introduction to Watt... Recommended [for] general readers, lower-division undergraduates, and two-year technical program students." -- "Choice"

About the Author:

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 2020
• ISBN 10: 0231131720
• ISBN 13: 9780231131728
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224