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STEEL: FROM THE IRON AGE TO THE SPACE AGE by Douglas Alan Fisher Kirkus Star

STEEL: FROM THE IRON AGE TO THE SPACE AGE

By

Pub Date: Sept. 1st, 1967
Publisher: Harper & Row

A technical, economic and social history of steel so informative and interesting that it's likely to be the definitive juvenile on the subject for some time. Throughout, the techniques of treating iron and the processes of producing steel are integrated with cause (e.g. the demand for church bells in the Middle Ages as spur to excellence in casting) and effect (e.g. successive alloy steels as spur to armaments competition); the result is a new angle on history in general. The scope is as per title, from the first iron--meteorites--to the tremendous range of space age applications; the depth will be evident from a few examples--""Vulcan (as) a triple personality:"" interdependence of the discoveries of William Kelly, an Irish-American, Henry Bessemer, an Englishman, and Robert Mushet, a Scotsman; the role of Andrew Carnegic, with insight into his personal and business characteristics; automation as it transforms industry and affects the worker, and how it is being handled. The last section is a detailed, consecutive description of a modern steel mill in operation--what, where, how and why. Mr. Fisher, who did an adult book on the subject, writes with clarity, color and a certain commitment to values (intellectual, moral, social) that raises this above the run-of-all-mills. You'll find it handy for all sorts of odd questions (especially on American industrial history) and it should be a boon for technical and adult education as well as supplementing the standard curriculum.