This book is not merely about the “first Industrial Revolution” nor does it concern only “technological changes and their application to industry” (p. ix). Its subject matter is the “long” Industrial Revolution (which continues up until the present day, is global in scope and includes the development of information technology). The focus of the encyclopaedia is the period from 1700 to 1920 on the grounds that the eighteenth century is the era of the First Industrial Revolution and that yet a new industrial revolution began in 1920 when Ernest Rutherford split the atom. The encyclopaedia also considers the broader ramifications of the Industrial Revolution, including the ways in which it influenced “the social, political, diplomatic, and economic aspects of life” (p. ix).
The body of the encyclopaedia consists of over 150 entries by 65 contributors who are mainly, although not exclusively, from American academic institutions. The entries are arranged alphabetically and are cross‐referenced. Each entry includes a short bibliography for further reading. In addition, the work includes an introduction that provides a history of the Industrial Revolution, a chronology of events related to the Industrial Revolution, illustrations and the text of 28 primary source documents, including, for instance, Czar Alexander II's Decree Emancipating the Serfs (Russia, 1861), the Allied Armistice Demands for Ending Fighting on the Western Front (November 10, 1918) and legislation such as the Combination Acts (Great Britain, 1799, 1800). Each document is preceded by a detailed introduction, explaining its significance for our understanding of the Industrial Revolution.
The introduction to the work identifies major characteristics of the Industrial Revolution (technological change, mechanisation and mass production, the factory system and the centralisation of production, urbanisation, cultural and lifestyle changes and standard of living). Rider makes the point that, before industrialisation, people expected to live as their ancestors had; whereas, now standards of living are expected to be an improvement over those of one's grandparents (p. xv). The advantages and disadvantages of industrialisation are weighed up and its causes discussed. Paramount seems to be “a labour force that is adaptable and capable of learning new skills” (p. xvi). The buzz phrase, “change agility”, sprang to my mind. A new set of words to describe something that is not new at all?
The topic entries in this work are wide‐ranging both geographically and in terms of subject matter. The Industrial Revolution in Asia, Austria‐Hungary, Britain, Canada, Central and Eastern Europe, France, Germany, Japan, the Polish lands, Russia, Spain and the USA all receive separate entries. Individuals of note receiving entries include inventors, politicians and writers who influenced and/or were influenced by the Industrial Revolution. Social issues, such as Child Labour and Public Health, are considered. Relevant legislation, such as the Corn Laws and the Factory Acts, is discussed and a variety of inventions described and their significance analysed. The styles of entries vary somewhat, as is inevitable with an edited work. Some are extremely clearly expressed and would probably be very useful for upper year secondary school students. Others are less straightforward, probably because they discuss more complex areas, such as the influence of the Industrial Revolution on art.
The beauty of this book lies in the way that it affects one's vision. You look about and suddenly you become aware of the influences of the Industrial Revolution all around you. I recently saw for the first time the Orangery in the Goldsmiths Hall of Residence, Surrey House, and I knew that I was seeing it differently from the way in which I would have seen it, had I not been reviewing this book. “Factories, bridges, greenhouses, and other utilitarian structures, the mechanisms of early industry, become sources for new architecture … In this new method, form is wrapped around function” (p. 14). So that is what I am seeing! The context suddenly falls into place.
