The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present [Paperback]

David S. Landes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 14, 2003 | ISBN-10: 052153402X | ISBN-13: 978-0521534024 | Edition: 2

In this new edition of his classic history on revolution and economic development in Europe, David Landes reasserts his original arguments in the light of current debates about globalization and comparative economic growth. Questions about why Europe was the first to industrialize and the viability of the post-war economic boom are as controversial as ever and Landes concludes that only by continuous industrial revolution can Europe and the world sustain itself in the years ahead. First Edition Hb (1969): 0-521-07200-X First Edition Pb (1969): 0-521-09418-6

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The first edition has long been a classic in the field...In 1969, Landes undertook the heroic task of surveying modern technological history. This path-breaking work asked the right questions, and provided insightful and balanced answers. It still repays reading by scholars of technological and economic history." Rick Szostak, The International History Review

"An unbeatable introduction to the economic history of the industrial and technologiocal revolutions in Western Europe." Military Review

Book Description

For over thirty years David Landes's Unbound Prometheus has offered an unrivalled history of industrial revolution and economic development in Europe. Now, in this new edition, he reframes and reasserts his original arguments in the light of current debates about globalisation and comparative economic growth. Questions of why Europe was the first to industrialise and of the viability of the post-war economic boom are as controversial as ever and Professor Landes concludes that only by continuous industrial revolution can Europe and the world sustain itself in the years ahead.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 590 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (July 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052153402X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521534024
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #773,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars While Europe worked, China and Islam did nothing good, July 8, 2007

By 

Dalton C. Rocha (Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present (Paperback)

I read this book, here in Brazil.This book is good and easy to read.The main idea of this book is that while Europe (and also its son:USA) worked, Islam and China did nothing.In Islam, the religion bought and today bringhs everything linked to VII Century, in the Dark Ages.In China, bad government stoped everything.

This book has some failures.One of them are the anti-catholic prejudices, that the author has.At the conclusion, the author claims that in Brazil, catholics are servants to the protestants.Nonsense.In Brazil such as every place of latin America, protestantism is almost the same as pentecostalism.And no other religious group is so poor , criminal and luckless in all latin America, as the protestants or the pentecostals, if you prefer to name them.

There's even jokes about protestantism here in Brazil.One joke: A poor + a bible = another protestant.Another joke:a crook + a temple = another uselesss pentecostal cult.