The Industrial Revolution in America: Automobiles, Mining and Petroleum, Textiles

Industrial Revolution in America series draws on the latest research to tell the stories of the industry that started the United States down the road toward economic revolution (textiles), the industry that represented the revolution's ultimate destination (automobiles), and the industry that fueled the journey by turning the nation's natural resources into sources of wealth and power.

How did the mid-19th century "bicycle boom" pave the way for America's car culture? What role did the mining industry play in settling the West? Why did Thomas Jefferson find the rise of textile manufacturing troubling? What roles did other industries play in the phenomenal development of these three—and vice versa? The answers to these and other probing questions lie in this remarkable set.