Reviews for The Age of Manufactures, 1700-1820: Industry, Innovation, and Work in Britain

The average rating for The Age of Manufactures, 1700-1820: Industry, Innovation, and Work in Britain based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-09-23 00:00:00 Jonathan Dash This is a difficult book. But it is important, so I continue with an inward sigh. Berg examines the industrial revolution prior to 1780 and argues that the changes taking place before 1780 are necessary for the rise of household and workshop industries (proto-industrialization). The Industrial Revolution is more complex and occurs over a longer period than previously assumed. She is both synthesizing and commenting on the existing historiography as it stood in the late 1970s, early 1980s. She argues against E.P. Thompson by incorporating women into the lens and says that women not factories encouraged "time-work discipline." She also sees a strong connection between industry and agriculture, and opposes technological determinism noting that new technology still required labor. Above all, there is not one road to industrialization but many different approaches that occur over the long term with some ebb and flow of success and failure. What is hard about this book is that she doesn't lay out her thesis until the end, and jumps around a great deal in the middle. I read a few academic reviews that were pretty harsh, but the book still maintains a strong position in the literature. But it is definitely for academics as no one else would tolerate the meanderings.

Review # 2 was written on 2021-03-10 00:00:00 Ashley Gautney Great research tool.