Britain's Industrial Revolution: The Making of a Manufacturing People, 1700 - 1870 Paperback – 14 Mar. 2013

Why the `industrial Revolution' happened in England is an immensely complicated subject, touching on politics, religion, geology, agriculture, education and many other factors. It did not have a definite start, or end, and it was not a single invention, nor even the dozen or so seminal inventions that made it happen, for many of their principles were not really new and had been proposed in earlier centuries. But as Watt said about Arkwright, whose invention of the spinning-frame was disputed, it was not the inventor who deserves the credit, but the `man who made it useful' And it was the ability to make something work, and something that others could copy and exploit that made the revolution possible; the parallel development of requirements, ideas, trades, commerce and personal connections.This wonderful book successfully summarizes the myriad of such developments; the fact that it has 38 pages of index and 17 of further reading is itself a recommendation, for so often the index is the part that suffers from the editor's economy. The book must be treated with great caution, for it is one of those few that can be opened anywhere, and a casual glance can trap the reader and lead them into i lengthy explorations. Even the index does it as I have found to my cost in missed sleep.By chance I recently read some of Samuel Smiles's biographies that flesh out Trinder's necessarily brief accounts of inventions and their inventors, and it is clear that much of the pioneering work in bringing inventions to fruit - `making it useful' - was by the sheer persistence of single-minded enthusiasts in the face of poverty, indifference or opposition from vested interests that made much of the Revolution possible and allowed the Men Who Came Behind (to Quote Henry Lawson) to improve, copy or even steal the invention; too often the real pioneer didn't make theirfortune. A good example is Coat's discovery of coal-based iron smelting.

This book has to be one of the most comprehensive and thoroughly researched surveys of the industrial revolution in Britain. It is a big book - over 650 pages - and it is stuffed with maps, diagrams, photographs, drawings and paintings, many of them contemporary with the events and places described in the text.Every aspect of the industrial revolution is touched on - coal, cotton, iron & steel, woolens, engineering, railways, ceramics, roads, canals. All the regions of Britain are described, although there is a clear concentration on the developments in the English Midlands, Lancashire and Yorkshire since this is where a lot of the action took place. Wales, Scotland and Ireland all have their place - with the unearthly wilderness of the abandoned Parys Mountain copper mine on Anglesey a particularly memorable location.The detail is impressive, with all kinds of records mined to give a full flavour of individual towns and wider districts. The census records shine a light on just how many people were engaged in particular jobs and trades, such as the canal barge folk shown engaged in their trade scattered across England, many miles from home. The sheer ferment of activity is vividly brought to light - with the myriad of small concerns shown alongside the larger and more famous companies and mills.This remarkable and fascinating period in world history is made to live again in the pages of this book - and there are reminders of events, places and people that are almost forgotten in our 21st century.I'd recommend every home to have a copy - you can use it as an excellent preparation for visiting the growing list of industrial heritage museums and preservations, such as Quarry Bank (Cotton) Mill, the superb set of locations around Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale, Crofton Beam Engines, the Great Western Society at Didcot and so on.

In Barrie Tinder's book it begins with the origins of the industrial revolution, then gets onto the revolution itself, covering most areas of Britain, from the Black Country in the West Midlands, to Yorkshire and the north east, to Lancashire and even Scotland gets a good mention. This book is a joy to read and is very detailed. A triumph

An excellent book, crammed full of details, drawings, photographs and descriptions on most, if not all, aspects of the Industrial Revolution in Britain. A magnificent work by Barrie Trinder. It is perhaps not to be read through from cover to cover in one reading, but more to be dipped into and absorbed at length. Highly recommended.

The definitive work on the subject. Mr Trinder must have spent the great part of a lifetime researching the subject to come up with so much detail. Unreservedly recommended!

This is an up to date reference tome to all aspects of Britain's Industrial Revolution from an acknowledged expert author.

This is an extensive and well illustrated survey of the industrial revolution in the United Kingdom. It is easy to read and presented in an attractive manner.

A remarkably detailed account of Britain's Industrial Revolution, with a large number of fascinating illustrations. An excellent book.