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The Most Powerful Idea In The World: A Story Of Steam, Industry, And Invention (2010)

by William Rosen(Favorite Author)

3.82 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1400067057 (ISBN13: 9781400067053)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Random House

review 1: I enjoyed this take on the various historical threads that came together to feed the Industrial Revolution. The author proposes that the concept of incentivising innovation (through patent laws etc.) was the primary force for this historical period. He tries for a sweet spot between a straightforward historical recounting of details of some of the most important inventions (primarily the steam engine) and a broader treatment of a variety of philosophical and cultural influences on this era. Readers who are primarily interested in one or the other of these may be a bit disappointed, but it is an entertaining read at any rate. The book could definitely use more (and better) illustrations of some of the early steam engine designs that the author covers, as it's not always... more clear from his narrative how the designs worked.
review 2: Fascinating review of done scientific technological, business, finance, societal, and economic changes in 1600's and 1700's Britain that created the environment allowing the steam engine to be developed. But the sleeper is the legal changes that gave intellectual property value and provided the profit incentive that drove inverters and their financiers to devote decades of effort to developing a workable steam engine. less

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