The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention

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Book details

AuthorRosen, William
PublisherRandom House
Bindinghardcover
PublishedJune 1, 2010
EditionFirst Edition
LanguageEnglish
Pages400
ISBN-101400067057
ISBN-139781400067053
Weight1.6 lb
Dimensions
H × W × L		 1.2 in × 6.1 in × 9.3 in

The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention

$6.24 $23.92
Availability:
In stock
SKU:
1400067057-4
Condition
Condition notes

Used book in good condition. Pages and cover are intact, with signs of use. Notes or highlighting are possible. CDs and access codes may be missing.

About this book

Hardly a week passes without some high-profile court case that features intellectual property at its center. But how did the belief that one could own an idea come about? And how did that belief change the way humankind lives and works? William Rosen, author of Justinian’s Flea, seeks to answer these questions and more with The Most Powerful Idea in the World. A lively and passionate study of the engineering and scientific breakthroughs that led to the steam engine, this...

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Hardly a week passes without some high-profile court case that features intellectual property at its center. But how did the belief that one could own an idea come about? And how did that belief change the way humankind lives and works?


William Rosen, author of Justinian’s Flea, seeks to answer these questions and more with The Most Powerful Idea in the World. A lively and passionate study of the engineering and scientific breakthroughs that led to the steam engine, this book argues that the very notion of intellectual property drove not only the invention of the steam engine but also the entire Industrial Revolution: history’s first sustained era of economic improvement. To do so, Rosen conjures up an eccentric cast of characters, including the legal philosophers who enabled most the inventive society in millennia, and the scientists and inventors—Thomas Newcomen, Robert Boyle, and James Watt—who helped to create and perfect the steam engine over the centuries. With wit and wide-ranging curiosity, Rosen explores the power of creativity, capital, and collaboration in the brilliant engineering of the steam engine and how this power source, which fueled factories, ships, and railroads, changed human history.


Deeply informative and never dull, Rosen’s account of one of the most important inventions made by humans is a rollicking ride through history, with careful scholarship and fast-paced prose in equal measure.


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All Books, Best Sellers, Engineering, Engineering & Transportation, Europe, Great Britain, Historical Study & Educational Resources, History, History & Philosophy, History of Technology
Tags:
England, Historical Study & Educational Resources, History, History & Philosophy, History of Technology, Patents & Inventions
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