Finch J.K. Engineering and Western Civilization

McGraw-Gill Book Compant, 1951. — 397 p.Some twenty-five or thirty years ago the writer became interested in the history of engineering and accumulated many volumes of detailed notes and references. Much of this material, secured as it was from original sources in various scattered and not too easily available publications, is of interest in revealing the remarkable evolution, through some fifty centuries or more, of one of the oldest of the practical arts. Yet engineering is a constantly growing and developing profession. While important technical principles and a valuable perspective of professional progress can be drawn from such a detailed study of the sequence and development of engineering discoveries and inventions, the methods and practices of yesterday offer little more than curiosity-satisfying value to the engineer of today.
We have quoted freely in this book from the works of several authors, endeavoring in each case to give proper credit and reference. We are at a loss, however, in giving adequate acknowledgment to the many other writers whose works have influenced our ideas and whose actual words may have—unknowingly, we assure them—found their way into our text. It is surprising how frequently one encounters in his more general reading grist for his mill—even when this mill is supposed to operate on such a specialized subject as engineering. We engineers feel, of course, that this proves that our profession is so much a part of modern life that even our literary friends, as well as our more closely related colleagues in economic, social, and political areas, cannot escape its influences and implications.