Hounshell is a serious academic historian, which means that he doesn't put words in the mouths of dead people, and he draws prudent inferences from period documents, drawings and photographs. It makes him credible, if a bit plodding at times and overly concerned with always crediting the right inventors. What you learn in this book is surprising and contradicts many popular beliefs. For example:

1. Eli Whitney had nothing to do with it.

2. Thomas Jefferson picked up the idea in France when he was ambassador. It was abandoned overthere while he, as president, started a pattern of government funding for research that took 50 years to bear fruit.

3. Early adopters don't always win. In his account of the sewing machine industry, he shows how the early adopters of interchangeable parts technology lost out to Singer, which only adopted it 30 years later.

If you are interested in the subject and you like your beliefs to be convincingly challenged, check out this book. Even if you are not a history buff but a citizen concerned about the role of the federal government in technology development, this book will give you a valuable perspective.