First published 2018
Simon Winchester examines how precision became the driving force behind technological progress. He starts with eighteenth-century England, where measurement standards emerged during the Industrial Revolution. Winchester profiles the inventors who created machine tools that make other machines: John Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. Thomas Jefferson brought their innovations to America, launching the nation toward manufacturing dominance. Winchester follows precision's evolution through guns, glass, mirrors, lenses, and cameras to modern breakthroughs like gene splicing, microchips, and the Hadron Collider. He travels from America to Western Europe to Asia, documenting cutting-edge developments. The book asks whether our obsession with ultra-precision has cost us something valuable. Winchester questions if we've lost appreciation for traditional craftsmanship, art, and high culture in our pursuit of mechanical perfection. He wonders whether precise and natural approaches can coexist in modern society.
Genres: science, 20th-century, non-fiction, technology, 21st-century, history-of-science
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-nonfiction
Setting: America, Asia, England, Western Europe
Period: 18th Century, Industrial Revolution
12 pages · Audio CD · HarperAudio