| PART I FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO A.D. 1750 |
| I. GENERAL HISTORICAL SURVEY |
| Man before civilization |
| Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations |
| The rise of Greece and Rome |
| The Roman Empire |
| The earlier Middle Ages |
| The later Middle Ages |
| The Renaissance |
| The emergence of the modern world |
| 2. THE PRODUCTION OF FOOD |
| Domestication of animals |
| Origins of agriculture |
| Irrigation |
| Growth of tillage in Europe |
| Preparation of food and drink |
| Fisheries |
| Effects of the geographical discoveries |
| "Progress of agriculture, c. A.D. I500-I750" |
| Land reclamation |
| 3. PRODUCTION FOR DOMESTIC NEEDS |
| Early pottery |
| Early textiles |
| "Ivory, wood, leather, glass" |
| The contribution of the Greek and Roman world |
| The Middle Ages |
| Medieval textiles and leather-work |
| Furniture |
| Textiles and glass |
| 4. THE EXTRACTION AND WORKING OF METALS |
| The earliest use of metals: the Bronze Age |
| The early Iron Age of Greece and Rome |
| Metal-working in the Middle Ages |
| Extension of the use of metals |
| Further developments of the iron industry |
| Armaments |
| Instrument-making |
| 5. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION |
| The early empires |
| Greek and Roman building |
| The Middle Ages |
| Building from the Renaissance to the eighteenth century |
| 6. TRANSPORT |
| Beginnings: the wheel and the horse |
| The Graeco-Roman period |
| Transport in the Middle Ages |
| The period of the great geographical discoveries |
| Development from I600 to I750 |
| 7. COMMUNICATION AND RECORD |
| Speech and record |
| Measurement |
| Cartography |
| Paper |
| Origins of printing |
| "Developments, I500-I750" |
| 8. EARLY SOURCES OF POWER |
| Man and animal power |
| The water-wheel |
| The windmill |
| 9. THE BEGINNINGS OF THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY |
| The chemical industry in ancient times |
| Chemistry and the textile industry |
| The manufacture of gunpowder |
| The alchemists and the iatrochemists |
| The beginning of modern chemistry |
| PART II THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION TO A.D. 1900 |
| 10. HISTORICAL SURVEY (I750-I900) |
| General Introduction |
| "The quickening tempo of industry, I750-92" |
| "The period of the great French wars, I792- |
| "From Waterloo to the Great Exhibition, I815-5I" |
| "The period of nationalist wars, I85I-7I" |
| "The age of materialism, I87I-I900" |
| II. THE STEAM-ENGINE |
| Introduction |
| Pioneers of the steam-engine |
| Watt and Trevithick |
| The steam-engine applied to transport |
| Locomotives and stationary steam-engines |
| Later development of the steam-engine |
| Steam-turbines |
| The theoretical background |
| I2. MACHINE-TOOLS AND THEIR PRODUCTS |
| Introduction |
| Growth of precision work |
| The succession of pioneers |
| The 'American System' |
| "Further developments, I850-I900" |
| I3. MODERN TRANSPORT |
| The last era of sail |
| The era of iron and steel steamships |
| The growth of railways |
| The road-steamer and the bicycle |
| The early motor-car |
| Initiation of the conquest of the air |
| I4. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION: REQUIREMENTS OF URBAN COMMUNITIES |
| The civil engineer |
| "Building materials, I750-I850" |
| Furniture |
| "New uses of wrought iron, steel, and concrete" |
| Improvement of water-supply |
| Drainage and sanitation |
| I5. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION: REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSPORT |
| Road-making |
| Canals and river-improvements |
| Railways: the permanent way |
| Bridges |
| Tunnels |
| Land works facilitating sea traffic |
| I6. COAL AND THE METALS |
| Coal-mining |
| Cast and wrought iron |
| The coming of cheap steel |
| "Exploitation of non-ferrous metals, I750-I900" |
| New metal products |
| Armaments |
| I7. "NEW MATERIALS: COAL-GAS, PETROLEUM, AND RUBBER" |
| Origins of gas-lighting |
| The gas age |
| Early exploitation of bituminous deposits |
| The oil-well industry |
| Early rubber manufacture |
| Vulcanization and wider uses of rubber |
| Plantation rubber |
| I8. THE RISE OF THE MODERN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY |
| The chemical industry and the industrial revolution |
| "Later developments in the manufacture of soda and sulphuric acid, I830-I900" |
| Synthetic dyes |
| Explosives |
| Some electrochemical processes |
| Artificial fertilizers |
| "Other developments, I830-I900" |
| Some chemical contributions to medicine |
| I9. TEXTILES |
| "Spinning-machinery, I760-I850" |
| Improvements in weaving |
| "Spread of textile machinery, to I850" |
| Hoisery and lace-m |
| The sewing machine |
| "The textile industries, I850-I900" |
| 20. POTTERY AND GLASS |
| The pottery industry in the eighteenth century |
| Nineteenth-century developments |
| Progress of glass-making |
| Glass-making |
| 2I. THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE |
| Introduction |
| Gas-engines |
| Oil-engines |
| Petrol-engines |
| Conclusion |
| 22. THE ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY |
| Historical Introduction |
| The generation of electricity |
| Distribution |
| Telegraphy and telephony |
| Electric lighting |
| The electric-motor |
| 23. "PRINTING, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND THE CINEMA" |
| The casting and setting of type |
| The typewriter |
| The modern printing-press |
| "Paper-making, binding, and illustrating" |
| Early history of photography |
| Photography for the amateur and the illustrator |
| Development of cinematography |
| 24. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD |
| Agriculture: the implements |
| Agriculture: the products |
| "Agriculture: world changes, I850-I900" |
| Food management: fish supplies and whaling |
| Processing and preservation of food |
| Canning and refrigeration |
| 25. EPILOGUE: TECHNOLOGICAL AND GENERAL HISTORY |
| CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY |
| INDEX OF SUBJECTS |
| INDEX OF PERSONS AND PLACE-NAMES |