This is the first comprehensive history of the steam engine in fifty years. It follows the development of reciprocating steam engines, from their earliest forms to the beginning of the twentieth century when they were replaced by steam turbines.

Originally published in 1977 as a memorial to Rolt, this is an authoritative biography on the life and work of Thomas Newcomen, the first to produce a machine capable of providing power, other than that derived from man, animals or the elements. Additional notes have been added to put the book within the context of more recent research.