James Watt CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015 M07 8 - 198 pages "When the publishers asked me to write the Life of Watt, I declined, stating that my thoughts were upon other matters. This settled the question, as I supposed, but in this I was mistaken. Why shouldn't I write the Life of the maker of the steam-engine, out of which I had made fortune? Besides, I knew little of the history of the Steam Engine and of Watt himself, and the surest way to obtain knowledge was to comply with the publisher's highly complimentary request. In short, the subject would not down, and finally, I was compelled to write again, telling them that the idea haunted me, and if they still desired me to undertake it, I should do so with my heart in the task. "I now know about the steam-engine, and have also had revealed to me one of the finest characters that ever graced the earth. For all this I am deeply grateful to the publishers. "The result is this volume. If the public, in reading, have one tithe of the pleasure I have had in writing it, I shall be amply rewarded." -The Author CONTENTS Authors Preface I. Childhood and Youth II. Glasgow to London-Return to Glasgow III. Captured by Steam IV. Partnership with Roebuck V. Boulton Partnership VI. Removal to Birmingham VII. Second Patent VIII. The Record of the Steam Engine IX. Watt in Old Age X. Watt, the Inventor and Discoverer XI. Watt, the Man This biography is as much about the nature of human virtue as it is about technology and business, and reveals great insight into the mindset and character of its author, Andrew Carnegie. |