The Innovators (Hardcover)

A richly illustrated introduction to the engineering triumphs that made America modern

Praise for The Tower and the Bridge

"Fascinating and informative. . . . [S]hould be required reading for architects, engineers, and anyone who is interested in the special role of structural art in our technological society." — Myron Goldsmith Coeditor (with David Billington) Technique and Aesthetics in the Design of Tall Buildings

"David Billington brings the special insight of an engineer to the study of history. The result is a provocative analysis . . . bound to excite and instruct a wide variety of readers, from the casual buff to the professional scholar. The book is a delight to read." — Merritt Roe Smith Editor, Military Enterprise and Technological Change

They built the future. Their ingenuity, their vision, their genius propelled a young nation toward the twentieth century, and paved the way for America's emergence as the world's leading industrial power. The Innovators tells the impressive story of the engineering pioneers whose designs revolutionized commerce, industry, and world history.

Enter the workshops of America's early engineering geniuses and discover how they came up with their ideas and applied them to the marketplace. David Billington, acclaimed author of The Tower and the Bridge, reveals the strokes of brilliance behind such landmark developments as the steamboat, electric power, and the rise of the iron and steel industry. He explains each major innovation through the story of the remarkable new engineering formulas that made it possible, showing that one key to engineering progress is the discovery of fundamental relationships in the physical world. He also explores the political and social conditions that allowed these brilliant individuals to implement their ideas, and the sweeping changes that followed in their wake.

Who were the innovators? Some are legendary: Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat; Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph; and Thomas Edison, inventor of the incandescent lightbulb. Others are not as well known, however, and readers will be introduced to many whose contributions, if not their names, have stood the test of time: people like J. Edgar Thompson, who built the Pennsylvania Railroad; and Thomas Telford, who revolutionized large-scale bridge building and design.

In the age of microchips and space probes, The Innovators brings insight and perspective to America's engineering history.