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The Industrial Revolution: A History From Beginning to End
The Industrial Revolution * * *Download for FREE on Kindle Unlimited + Free BONUS Inside!* * * Read On Your Computer, MAC, Smartphone, Kindle Reader, iPad, or Tablet. The Industrial Revolution which took place in Great Britain between the middle of the eighteenth century and the middle of the nineteenth transformed British industry and society and made Great Britain the most powerful nation in the world. The Industrial Revolution didn’t happen due to one, single factor but rather to a number of separate yet related developments which interacted to change the world profoundly and completely. Improvements in the production of iron allowed the construction of efficient, reliable steam engines. These steam engines were then used in the production of iron to improve the quality and quantity of iron production even further. Manufacturing became concentrated in factories filled with automated machinery while canals and improved roads allowed raw materials to be brought to these factories and for finished products to be distributed. Inside you will read about... ✓ Transport and the Rise of Global Trade ✓ The Iron Heart of the Industrial Revolution ✓ The Power of Steam ✓ The Lives of Workers during the Industrial Revolution ✓ The Rise of Labor Movements And much more! During the the Industrial Revolution, people became used to the availability of cheap, mass-produced items transported to the point of sale from other parts of the country or even other parts of the world. However, people also became used to living in large cities and working in factories and mills, often for meager wages and in dangerous and exhausting conditions. Progress made a small number of people very wealthy, but it also condemned a large portion of the British population to living and working in danger and squalor. Opposition to the Industrial Revolution came from skilled workers who saw their jobs being replaced by machines and from influential poets who deplored the loss of what they regarded as an idyllic, rural, agrarian way of life. This opposition was brutally repressed, and even those who tried to champion the rights of workers sometimes found themselves under attack by the British Army. The Industrial Revolution changed almost everything about the British way of life, and it spread from Great Britain to most of the developed countries of the world. This is the story of a revolution which continues to affect all of us in the modern world.
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110 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 19, 2019
297 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
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Hourly History
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 9, 2022
Yikes
So basically the industrial revolutions was build on Little more than child slave labor and extremely dangerous conditions... How Lovely.. Not
So basically the industrial revolutions was build on Little more than child slave labor and extremely dangerous conditions... How Lovely.. Not
January 30, 2025
Por fin encontré un libro conciso sobre la historia de la Revolución Industrial, que me interesa mucho entender para entender el mundo actual, pero tengo una larga lista de lecturas y no puedo por ahora detenerme en un libro muy detallado. Este libro describe los hechos que permitieron la RI, como la creación de una red de canales para comunicar distintos asentamientos en Gran Bretaña, las innovaciones a la producción de objetos de hierro de buena calidad, la invención de máquinas hiladoras y tejedoras, en un principio impulsadas por molinos de agua y finalmente el advenimiento de las máquinas de vapor y sus múltiples aplicaciones, desde bombas para drenar las minas de carbón, materia prima para todas las máquinas, hasta las grandes fábricas de ropa. También dedica un capítulo a los movimientos sociales sangrientamente reprimidos, por igual los ludistas destructores de máquinas como los inconformes pacíficos que buscaban el voto y representación en el parlamento. Pero todo esto confinado en Gran Bretaña. Quiero ahora investigar cómo se difundió la RI en los países considerados ahora como "desarrollados" en Europa y Norte América.
August 8, 2024
I will begin by briefly mentioning the few positive points of this book, which are short and to the point.
Like all books I've read in the Hourly History series so far, it is exceedingly well-written. Furthermore, it was fairly systematically structured. An ironic strength of these independently published history book series (Hourly History, Captivating History, Charles River Editors, etc.) seems to be that they are better written and better organized than what one generally observes in "official" history books from renowned publishers. Furthermore, he does a good job at concisely explaining the contributions of various entrepreneurs (e.g. James Watt) and the significance of the Luddites.
Now that I have concluded my brief and simple praise, however, I must offer my in-depth criticisms.
This book offers an excellent example of a major problem among many if not most history books, which is the failure to realize that you don't get to interpret history or any other empirical data however you want; there are rules, procedure, and protocol involved.
Imagine, for example, if I were a believer in Norse polytheistic paganism; this would tend to effect my interpretation of historical events unless I make efforts to subdue my religious affiliations while doing history. It would be absurd, for example, if I claimed that the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo proved that Odin favored the Duke of Wellington, Britain, and its allies and he held Napoleon and the French in low regard. Only if I could somehow demonstrate that all cosmic events are somehow a function of the bidding and desires of Odin, whom I would first have to prove even exists, could I even begin to make the case that this is sound historical interpretation.
People might claim this is an unfair comparison, but this hypothetical scenario is no more silly than the tendency of a large percentage of historians to examine the record and somehow find historical "justification" for socialism or government regulation. The problem is that economic science and pure logic tell us this is impossible, since human living standards are a function of voluntary, informed market transactions and exchanges and are not decreed into existence unilaterally by state fiat, or by setting up a system of government-enforced monopolies in various industries. Any "justification" one finds in history for statism, therefore, necessarily involves faulty interpretative methodology and historiography.
This is unfortunately very common in history books, but I find it especially pronounced in this short history. In terms of the raw "data" discussed in the book, it is fine; the absurd conclusions that are abstracted from this data, however, bring my rating down all the way to two stars.
The author clearly takes the fantastic stance that the Industrial Revolution, instead of being the greatest explosion in living standards in human history, was somehow only dubiously good. For example, he posits at one point that only the wealthy saw their living standards increase from it, while everyone else stayed the same -- even though this is not how wealth creation works, since the way you earn wealth in a free market is by offering consumers goods they value. At one point he seriously, non-ironically, and non-hyperbolically asserts that the standard of living among workers in Britain during this period was no better than that of paleolithic hunter-gatherers.
And then he shows the typical yet inexcusable ignorance we see whenever beltway academics criticize the working conditions of the era -- which, to be sure, were awful by today's standards. But judging them by the standards of today is no less absurd than criticizing people in Victorian England for not having the ability to produce and use smart phones. Civilizations don't leap from the pure poverty of hunter-gatherers to advanced technological civilizations in wholesale leaps; it is a gradual process that builds off the progress of preceding generations. You have to judge them by what they replaced, and in every single respect, the Industrial Revolution improved upon the status quo; Hobbes was right when he said the default state of life for man is nasty, brutish, and short, and nobody should condemn any departure from that.
And neither the government nor the "labor movement" can claim credit for the safer conditions of today, as the author asserts; for that, capital formation alone -- the only way to increase the quantity, quality, and variety of goods and services -- must take the credit. Working conditions improve when society becomes wealthy enough that employers can afford to improve the safety of their equipment. The government is not some magician that decrees human wellbeing into existence supernaturally out of a vacuum.
Another defect of this book is it makes zero mention of why the Industrial Revolution began when it did and where it did; the conclusion of the book leaves the impression that the author not only regards this as unimportant but that he believes it was just pure chance that it emerged in seventh and eighteenth century Great Britain. The true answer to this question is that the best aspects of the Enlightenment took place in Britain. This had the effect of inducing British intellectuals into persuading the ruling classes to tear down the proto-socialist ancient and medieval guild systems that had kept people down for thousands of years all around the world. The historically unprecedented breadth of free markets that followed explain why entrepreneurship and living standards exploded like no other time in history.
While I'm not claiming that the author of this particular book did so out of dishonesty, the tendency of academics in general to ignore this causal impetus for the Industrial Revolution is explained when one considers the socialist views of most academics: mentioning this fact typically reflects extremely poorly on socialism and positively on free market capitalism.
Despite the two-star review, I don't recommend against reading it -- for such books alone I reserve one-star reviews -- but I do strongly recommend they get some self-training in economics. As I have said, history is only useful when you have your historiography right. For this, I strongly recommend they read F.A. Hayek's Capitalism and the Historians and, for the American side of the Industrial Revolution, The Myth of the Robber Barons by Burton Folsom, Jr.
Like all books I've read in the Hourly History series so far, it is exceedingly well-written. Furthermore, it was fairly systematically structured. An ironic strength of these independently published history book series (Hourly History, Captivating History, Charles River Editors, etc.) seems to be that they are better written and better organized than what one generally observes in "official" history books from renowned publishers. Furthermore, he does a good job at concisely explaining the contributions of various entrepreneurs (e.g. James Watt) and the significance of the Luddites.
Now that I have concluded my brief and simple praise, however, I must offer my in-depth criticisms.
This book offers an excellent example of a major problem among many if not most history books, which is the failure to realize that you don't get to interpret history or any other empirical data however you want; there are rules, procedure, and protocol involved.
Imagine, for example, if I were a believer in Norse polytheistic paganism; this would tend to effect my interpretation of historical events unless I make efforts to subdue my religious affiliations while doing history. It would be absurd, for example, if I claimed that the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo proved that Odin favored the Duke of Wellington, Britain, and its allies and he held Napoleon and the French in low regard. Only if I could somehow demonstrate that all cosmic events are somehow a function of the bidding and desires of Odin, whom I would first have to prove even exists, could I even begin to make the case that this is sound historical interpretation.
People might claim this is an unfair comparison, but this hypothetical scenario is no more silly than the tendency of a large percentage of historians to examine the record and somehow find historical "justification" for socialism or government regulation. The problem is that economic science and pure logic tell us this is impossible, since human living standards are a function of voluntary, informed market transactions and exchanges and are not decreed into existence unilaterally by state fiat, or by setting up a system of government-enforced monopolies in various industries. Any "justification" one finds in history for statism, therefore, necessarily involves faulty interpretative methodology and historiography.
This is unfortunately very common in history books, but I find it especially pronounced in this short history. In terms of the raw "data" discussed in the book, it is fine; the absurd conclusions that are abstracted from this data, however, bring my rating down all the way to two stars.
The author clearly takes the fantastic stance that the Industrial Revolution, instead of being the greatest explosion in living standards in human history, was somehow only dubiously good. For example, he posits at one point that only the wealthy saw their living standards increase from it, while everyone else stayed the same -- even though this is not how wealth creation works, since the way you earn wealth in a free market is by offering consumers goods they value. At one point he seriously, non-ironically, and non-hyperbolically asserts that the standard of living among workers in Britain during this period was no better than that of paleolithic hunter-gatherers.
And then he shows the typical yet inexcusable ignorance we see whenever beltway academics criticize the working conditions of the era -- which, to be sure, were awful by today's standards. But judging them by the standards of today is no less absurd than criticizing people in Victorian England for not having the ability to produce and use smart phones. Civilizations don't leap from the pure poverty of hunter-gatherers to advanced technological civilizations in wholesale leaps; it is a gradual process that builds off the progress of preceding generations. You have to judge them by what they replaced, and in every single respect, the Industrial Revolution improved upon the status quo; Hobbes was right when he said the default state of life for man is nasty, brutish, and short, and nobody should condemn any departure from that.
And neither the government nor the "labor movement" can claim credit for the safer conditions of today, as the author asserts; for that, capital formation alone -- the only way to increase the quantity, quality, and variety of goods and services -- must take the credit. Working conditions improve when society becomes wealthy enough that employers can afford to improve the safety of their equipment. The government is not some magician that decrees human wellbeing into existence supernaturally out of a vacuum.
Another defect of this book is it makes zero mention of why the Industrial Revolution began when it did and where it did; the conclusion of the book leaves the impression that the author not only regards this as unimportant but that he believes it was just pure chance that it emerged in seventh and eighteenth century Great Britain. The true answer to this question is that the best aspects of the Enlightenment took place in Britain. This had the effect of inducing British intellectuals into persuading the ruling classes to tear down the proto-socialist ancient and medieval guild systems that had kept people down for thousands of years all around the world. The historically unprecedented breadth of free markets that followed explain why entrepreneurship and living standards exploded like no other time in history.
While I'm not claiming that the author of this particular book did so out of dishonesty, the tendency of academics in general to ignore this causal impetus for the Industrial Revolution is explained when one considers the socialist views of most academics: mentioning this fact typically reflects extremely poorly on socialism and positively on free market capitalism.
Despite the two-star review, I don't recommend against reading it -- for such books alone I reserve one-star reviews -- but I do strongly recommend they get some self-training in economics. As I have said, history is only useful when you have your historiography right. For this, I strongly recommend they read F.A. Hayek's Capitalism and the Historians and, for the American side of the Industrial Revolution, The Myth of the Robber Barons by Burton Folsom, Jr.
January 26, 2020
Title needs to be changed
While this is a good account of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, there is little to no mention of its effects elsewhere; therefore this is an incomplete account of what was a worldwide phenomenon. A more appropriate title might be, "The Industrial Revolution in England" or possibly subtitled to indicate to the reader that they will be seeing only a part of the whole picture.
While this is a good account of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, there is little to no mention of its effects elsewhere; therefore this is an incomplete account of what was a worldwide phenomenon. A more appropriate title might be, "The Industrial Revolution in England" or possibly subtitled to indicate to the reader that they will be seeing only a part of the whole picture.
March 24, 2019
Quick summary and fun to read
A quick summary of the industrial revolution. Some great pints as well. Read in one hour and come away enlighten ed!
A quick summary of the industrial revolution. Some great pints as well. Read in one hour and come away enlighten ed!
August 21, 2023
Good Summary With a Focus on Great Britain
This was a good summary of the industrial revolution with a focus on Great Britain. The book states that similar progress was made in other parts of the world. Here in the US in the state of CT, canals were built in the 1820's, followed by railroads in the 1850's, followed by the automobile in the 20th century, which was the identical pattern outlined in the book. Although this was a concise summary of the subject, some mention of key technologies could have been mentioned. Eli Whitney invented interchangeable parts for rifles here in CT in the 1790's. This idea was adapted for clock making by Eli Terry in 1805 and many others for a variety of industries that followed. The whole concept of mass production was coupled with improvements to transportation while monarchy withered and democracy thrived. The entire subject is generally neglected here in public schools in the US, whereas it should be a major historical focus as it continues to impact our lives today.
This was a good summary of the industrial revolution with a focus on Great Britain. The book states that similar progress was made in other parts of the world. Here in the US in the state of CT, canals were built in the 1820's, followed by railroads in the 1850's, followed by the automobile in the 20th century, which was the identical pattern outlined in the book. Although this was a concise summary of the subject, some mention of key technologies could have been mentioned. Eli Whitney invented interchangeable parts for rifles here in CT in the 1790's. This idea was adapted for clock making by Eli Terry in 1805 and many others for a variety of industries that followed. The whole concept of mass production was coupled with improvements to transportation while monarchy withered and democracy thrived. The entire subject is generally neglected here in public schools in the US, whereas it should be a major historical focus as it continues to impact our lives today.
August 28, 2022
I’m certain this is not a read for everyone, however if you are into history and/or want to know how the Industrial Age began, this is the one to read.
In, as is always the case, an abbreviated manner the author shares with us how Britain started down the path to industrialization and then how most of the rest of the World followed suit.
Not a pleasant time in our history, the industrial revaluation was a hard and scary time. Lots of building took place, and certain classes of people were taken advantage of, especially young children (as wages for the young were almost non-existent). Rule were tough, the wealthy became much wealthier, and the poor were even more impoverished.
Mechanized machinery was developed and transportation because easier.
What to find out more about what was initially revolutionized, pick this one up as there’s lots of good information to be found.
In, as is always the case, an abbreviated manner the author shares with us how Britain started down the path to industrialization and then how most of the rest of the World followed suit.
Not a pleasant time in our history, the industrial revaluation was a hard and scary time. Lots of building took place, and certain classes of people were taken advantage of, especially young children (as wages for the young were almost non-existent). Rule were tough, the wealthy became much wealthier, and the poor were even more impoverished.
Mechanized machinery was developed and transportation because easier.
What to find out more about what was initially revolutionized, pick this one up as there’s lots of good information to be found.
November 17, 2020
The title is a bit misleading. I can imagine the author was aiming to intrigue a broader audience, and I liked it. He tried to address all major events in the initial stage of the industrial revolution. He did succeed in it, I would say.
For those of you who live in the Northwest of England, I would recommend visiting MOSI in Manchester. It would be a perfect illustration!
For those of you who live in the Northwest of England, I would recommend visiting MOSI in Manchester. It would be a perfect illustration!
March 25, 2021
“The Industrial Revolution A History from Beginning to End” is a good essay explaining the how and why this revolution occurred. Hourly History Books by and large are right-on the mark explaining historical events accurately-- these books are also ideal (as in my case) as a refresher of history of human culture and society’s evolution.
April 6, 2024
Rating :- 5 stars
What a great book. It helped me to understand how Britain became the great Britain, and how it managed to stay ahead of the rest of the world - Thanks to the industrial revolution. You will get to know exactly how it started (from improvements in iron smelting) to the invention of steam engines to the set-up of power looms. Overall, I enjoyed this book very much.
What a great book. It helped me to understand how Britain became the great Britain, and how it managed to stay ahead of the rest of the world - Thanks to the industrial revolution. You will get to know exactly how it started (from improvements in iron smelting) to the invention of steam engines to the set-up of power looms. Overall, I enjoyed this book very much.
November 19, 2022
The industrial revolution
This book though not the complete story is a good representation of the History of the Industry Revolution, and is a very good start to discover the complete story.
This book though not the complete story is a good representation of the History of the Industry Revolution, and is a very good start to discover the complete story.
August 15, 2019
Interesting
Good lightning on how are Industrial Revolution in the United States paralleled Great Britain . Although there was a few years difference very very similar
Good lightning on how are Industrial Revolution in the United States paralleled Great Britain . Although there was a few years difference very very similar
October 2, 2019
A nice short summary book - enough if you don't want much details.
January 23, 2020
As usual an excellent over from a slightly different perspective. Not quite the same - "everybody benefited from the industrial revolution" that we often get fed. Quite thought provoking.
February 1, 2020
Buena síntesis
Muy bien sintetizado, es un resumen bastante completo . E una hora deja todos los puntos relevantes sobre la historia del inicio de la revolución industrial
Muy bien sintetizado, es un resumen bastante completo . E una hora deja todos los puntos relevantes sobre la historia del inicio de la revolución industrial
February 2, 2020
Short read
Good give lot of information in just 50 pages . Intresting read . It has everything about industrial revolution which was needed in exam point of view.
Good give lot of information in just 50 pages . Intresting read . It has everything about industrial revolution which was needed in exam point of view.
January 4, 2021
Briefest of introductions. Ok read, will get more out of a Wiki article though.
May 13, 2022
A brief introduction to the "Industrial Revolution".
May 30, 2022
Ok but light o momn details
Book is well written but light on details. Would like more information. For example the canal system and manufacturing process for other goods
Book is well written but light on details. Would like more information. For example the canal system and manufacturing process for other goods
December 27, 2022
Britain at its best anworsed
What a good book this is I dearly enjoyed it 😊🙂 lots of information I did not know. So we'll put together
What a good book this is I dearly enjoyed it 😊🙂 lots of information I did not know. So we'll put together
November 2, 2023
I found this book to be a short and concise short history of the Industrial Revolution. The author got right to the point and covered the basics.
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
November 5, 2023
My second bite sized piece of history. More please!
February 26, 2024
The industrial revolution. Still as boring as it was at school 30 years ago!
January 4, 2025
Interesting and informative for a short account.
April 27, 2025
Some interesting history marred by the injection of more recent unnecessary political leanings.
December 29, 2020
Like all the books from beginning to end ,it is a good concise account of the industrial Revolution. It concentrates on the bullet points . I find them all very helpful and easy to read
December 3, 2023
This short book covers a vital part of history.
As usual, it's compact, comprehensive and captivating.
As usual, it's compact, comprehensive and captivating.
August 26, 2019
For one of the "free" Amazon kindle short books I found this to be interesting and a reminder of some of what I remembered of the Industrial Revolution details.
Often these "hourly Histories" are not very good but they are good for a short read (for me anyway) on bus or subway etc and this was the first of many that I found really worth the time.
I would put it only my kindle (if one can get it for free) and have as a backup for available time with a short time frame commitment.
Often these "hourly Histories" are not very good but they are good for a short read (for me anyway) on bus or subway etc and this was the first of many that I found really worth the time.
I would put it only my kindle (if one can get it for free) and have as a backup for available time with a short time frame commitment.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews