Reader's Guide

The Industrial Revolution, which began in England in the middle of the eighteenth century and spread across the globe by the beginning of World War II, shaped a new world. The introduction of new technology into manufacturing processes at the heart of the revolution turned simple agricultural societies into complex industrial ones. Consequently, the way we worked, where we lived, and how we communicated with one another were altered. Governments, even the physical environment of the planet, were forever changed. The Industrial Revolution was in every sense a revolution.

Industrial Revolution: Almanac, in eight chapters, provides an overview of this era, from its roots in the philosophies of the Renaissance to the first technological advances, from the first migrations of workers to urban areas to the rise of giant corporations. Each chapter of the Almanac features informative sidebar boxes highlighting glossary terms and issues discussed in the text and concludes with a list of further readings. Also included are nearly sixty illustrations, a time-line, a glossary, and an index providing easy access to subjects discussed throughout Industrial Revolution: Almanac.

Related reference sources

Industrial Revolution: Biographies profiles twenty-five significant figures of the Industrial Revolution. The essays cover such people as economic philosophers Karl Marx and Adam Smith; innovators like Henry Bessemer, Henry Ford, Robert Fulton, and Eli Whitney; financial wizards Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan; and crusading journalists such as Upton Sinclair and Ida Tarbell. The volume includes more than fifty photographs, sources for further reading, a time-line, and an index.

Industrial Revolution: Primary Sources presents twenty-seven full or excerpted written works, speeches, and testimony from the period. The volume includes excerpts from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, The Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx, Twenty Years at Hull-House by Jane Addams, and the United States Supreme Court decision in Northern Securities Co. v. United States enforcing federal regulation of corporations. Each entry includes an introduction, things to remember while reading the excerpt, a glossary of difficult terms from the document, information on what happened after the work was published, and other interesting facts. Forty photographs, sources for further reading, a timeline, and an index supplement the volume.

Acknowledgments

The authors extend their thanks to U•X•L senior editor Diane Sawinski, U•X•L editor Matthew May, and U•X•L publisher Tom Romig for their assistance throughout the production of this series. Thanks, too, to Judy Galens for lending her editorial talents in the form of proofreading. The editor wishes to thank Marco Di Vita of the Graphix Group for always working with flexibility, speed, and, above all, quality.

Comments and suggestions

We welcome your comments on Industrial Revolution: Almanac and suggestions for other topics in history to consider. Please write: Editors, Industrial Revolution: Almanac, U•X•L, 27500 Drake Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan, 48331-3535; call toll-free: 800-877-4253; fax to 248-699-8097; or send e-mail via www.gale.com.