This book is intended both as a resource for engineers and as an introduction to the layman about our most important metal system. After an introduction that deals with the history and refining of iron and steel, the rest of the book examines their physical properties and metallurgy. To elaborate on the importance of iron and steel, we can refer to the fact that modern civilization as we know it would not be possible without it. Steel is essential in the machinery necessary for manufacturing that meets our needs. Even the words themselves have come to suggest strength. Phrases such as 'iron willed', 'iron fisted', 'iron clad', 'iron curtain' and 'pumping iron' imply strength. A 'steely glance' is a stern look. 'A heart of steel' refers to a very hard demeanor. The Russian dictator, Stalin (which means steel in Russian), chose the name to invoke fear in those under him.

This book was first published in 1967. This volume explores the history of the British iron and steel industry from 1760, tracking its development, relationship with the British economy, regional hubs, technological developments and the final triumph of steel over iron.

"[The author's] M.I.T. doctoral dissertation ... in slightly altered form." Bibliography: p. 286-297.

In this study of Birmingham's iron and steel workers, Henry McKiven unravels the complex connections between race relations and class struggle that shaped the city's social and economic order. He also traces the links between the process of class formation and the practice of community building and neighborhood politics. According to McKiven, the white men who moved to Birmingham soon after its founding to take jobs as skilled iron workers shared a free labor ideology that emphasized opportunity and equality between white employees and management at the expense of less skilled black laborers. But doubtful of their employers' commitment to white supremacy, they formed unions to defend their position within the racial order of the workplace. This order changed, however, when advances in manufacturing technology created more semiskilled jobs and broadened opportunities for black workers. McKiven shows how these race and class divisions also shaped working-class life away from the plant, as workers built neighborhoods and organized community and political associations that reinforced bonds of skill, race, and ethnicity.