Description
Book SynopsisAs 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.
Trade ReviewAn informative and well-organized introduction to Watt... Recommended [for] general readers, lower-division undergraduates, and two-year technical program students. Choice 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
