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

New York: Random House, 2010. Advance Uncorrected Proofs. Trade paperback. Good. [2], xxv, [1], 364, [4] pages. Occasional footnotes. Notes. Cover has some wear, soiling, and a corner is bumped. From an obituary available on line: William Rosen, 61, whose works of narrative nonfiction include "Justinian's Flea" and "The Most Powerful Idea in the World: The Story of Steam, Industry and Invention," died at home on April 28, 2016. Rosen worked for nearly 25 years as an editor and publisher at Macmillan, Simon and Schuster and the Free Press before becoming an author. With a writing style that used anecdotes to pull together the threads of discovery and innovation, Rosen authored or co-authored books on education, traffic, antibiotics, and climate change. Rosen grew up in Los Angeles, CA, attended UCLA and, after a brief stint at John Wiley and Sons, moved east for publishing. He edited books authored by George Will, as well as William Bennett, Bernard Lewis, Maya Lin, and Leon Kass. But he found true fulfillment writing books instead of only publishing them. From a University of Chicago Press web-posting: "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 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. The author presents an intriguing 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, 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.