This book describes technological change in an industry that played a central role in the Indsutrial Revolution. While earlier scholars have examined isolated aspects of ironmaking in the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain, Charles Hyde surveys all aspects of its development. Costs, prices, profits, shrewd leaders, competition, new inventions, and productivity all figure in this story of a key industry during the major period of its evolution. The author's account illuminates not only the nature of innovation in one industry, but the nature of technologial change in general. using new data compiled form the records of the ironmaking concerns, Professor Hyde considers each of the basic economic variables affecting entrepreneurial decisions. He finds that ironmaking advanced through a process of gradual, continuous change rather than through a series of discrete innovations. The rate of diffusion of new techniques corresponded to their profitability when compared to that of existing means of production--a finding that explains that timing of innovation. Charles K. Hyde is Assistant Professor of Social Science at Monteith College, Wayne State University. Originally published in 1977. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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Between 1700-1850 Britain moved from a situation in which she was unable to supply a large part of her home market to being the world's largest producer and exporter of iron. In this work, Professor Harris sets out to show how earlier views on the economic and technological development of the industry have been revised in the light of further research, and explains the subject for the student approaching it for the first time. Professor Harris is author of "The Copper King" and co-author of "A Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution".

A sweeping history of the full range of human labor Few authors are able to write cogently in both the scientific and the economic spheres. Even fewer possess the intellectual scope needed to address science and economics at a macro as well as a micro level. But Paul Cockshott, using the dual lenses of Marxist economics and technological advance, has managed to pull off a stunningly acute critical perspective of human history, from pre-agricultural societies to the present. In How the World Works, Cockshott connects scientific, economic, and societal strands to produce a sweeping and detailed work of historical analysis. This book will astound readers of all backgrounds and ages; it will also will engage scholars of history, science, and economics for years to come.

Reexamines the history of South Africa, traces the development of apartheid, and describes the anti-apartheid movement

In July 1863 New York City experienced widespread rioting unparalleled in the history of the nation. Here for the first time is a scholarly analysis of the Draft Riots, dealing with motives and with the reasons for the recurring civil disorders in nineteenth-century New York: the appalling living conditions, the corruption of the civic government, and the geographical and economic factors that led up to the social upheaval.