
The Dawn of Innovation
The First American Industrial Revolution
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Narrated by:
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David Colacci
In the 30 years after the Civil War, the United States blew by Great Britain to become the greatest economic power in world history. That is a well-known period in history, when titans like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan walked the earth.
But as Charles R. Morris shows us, the platform for that spectacular growth spurt was built in the first half of the century. By the 1820s, America was already the world's most productive manufacturer and the most intensely commercialized society in history. The War of 1812 jump-started the great New England cotton mills, the iron centers in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and the forges around the Great Lakes. In the decade after the War, the Midwest was opened by entrepreneurs.
In this book, Morris paints a vivid panorama of a new nation buzzing with the work of creation. He also points out the parallels and differences in the 19th century American/British standoff and that between China and America today.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2012 Charles R. Morris (P)2012 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"The author is at his best when he focuses on the people behind the technology. . . . Morris' research is thorough. . . . Ambitious." (Kirkus)
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History On a Micro Scale
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How our industries started
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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
A good perspective, but a little bit too much detail.Would you be willing to try another book from Charles R. Morris? Why or why not?
Sure, I liked the way he looked at the economic impact of historical industrial events.What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Just a little bit mechanical, but still a good reader.Any additional comments?
The end of the book, where he connects to the current China gaining technological, industrial and economic superiority to the U.S., along with the comparisons to the U.S. doing the same to Britian (the theme of the majority of the book), was worth the entire book.Interesting historical perspective
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Any additional comments?
I was basically looking for something to fill in my gaps in knowledge of 19th Century history, and was expecting this to be informative but dry. Instead, I was surprised how much I loved this book! We get histories of the major players in the American industrial revolution, what they innovated and what effect their mass production had on society. I learned about company towns that sprang up in Massachusetts, New York and Ohio. The author quotes (often British) observers of this societal leap forward as varied as Frances Trollpe, Isabella Lucy Bird, and Dickens himself. The history begins with Marc Brunel's pulley block factory in Portsmouth, England which started the British industrial revolution, then continues on with his son, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, considered one of the greatest Britons of all time. Then we move to America where the idea of mass production gets applied to nearly every possible commercial product possible. The author always notes how each industry changes American lives, whether the change occurs in war, transportation, clothing or diet. This book perfectly synthesizes in-depth information while taking the widest view possible. The eventual supremacy of the U.S. over Britain is always alluded to, but it is finally dealt with by examining the condescending attitudes toward American ingenuity that prevailed in Britain throughout the 19th Century. However, although Americans were incredibly adaptable, they also had the advantage of starting out in the comfortable position of Number Two, enabling them to develop others' long-gestating ideas, if not outright stealing them. The author then jumps ahead to the 1950s and 60s when Japan managed the same trick with the U.S., and today when China has begun to steal intellectual property from its close partners Germany and the U.S. You won't find many history books with a point of view that so clearly draws parallels between two centuries ago and today. This book was as thrilling as the time it evoked.Couldn't put it down!
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Book is interesting enough although its not really 100% as advertised-the first part is a conventional history of one small subsection of the war of 1812 and doesnt really get directly to the heart of his theme but rather only at an angle to it
Decent, but not as tight as some of Morris; work
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yet there are dishes of exactly what you wanted from this book with interesting history of various inventions.
all in all not what i had hoped for, but interesting none the less.
so close to a greatness
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A great history with descriptions of inventions
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False advertising
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