The Heroic Age of American Invention facts for kids
Dust-jacket
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| Author | L. Sprague de Camp |
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| Cover artist | Robert Flynn |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | American history |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
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Publication date
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1961 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 290 pp |
| OCLC | 1299638 |
| 608.773 | |
| LC Class | T212 .D4 |
The Heroic Age of American Invention is an exciting science book for young readers, written by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published by Doubleday in 1961. Later, in 1993, it was re-released by Barnes & Noble under a slightly different name: The Heroes of American Invention. This book has even been translated into Portuguese! It tells the amazing stories of how America grew from a farming country into a powerful industrial nation, all thanks to many clever inventors.
The Age of Amazing American Inventors
When the author says "heroic age," he's talking about a special time in American history. This was when individual inventors, working on their own, were the main force behind new technologies. This period lasted from the early 1800s until around World War I. After that, big factories and large companies started to invent things faster than individuals could.
The book shares the stories of 32 important inventors from America's Industrial Revolution. These are the people de Camp believes were key to changing the country. They helped America become a leader in industry and technology.
Some of the brilliant minds you'll read about include:
- Robert L. Stevens, who helped with railroads.
- George Westinghouse, known for his electrical inventions.
- Joseph Henry and Samuel Morse, who worked on the telegraph.
- Samuel Colt and Hiram Stevens Maxim, famous for firearms.
- Cyrus McCormick, who invented farm machinery.
- John Ericsson, who designed modern warships.
- William Kelly, who improved steel making.
- Ottmar Mergenthaler and Christopher Latham Sholes, who created writing machines.
- Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone.
- Thomas Edison, known for the electric light bulb and many other things.
- Elihu Thomson and Nikola Tesla, who worked with electric power.
- George Baldwin Selden, involved with early automobiles.
- Samuel Pierpoint Langley and the Wright brothers (Wilbur and Orville), who pioneered flying.
- Reginald Aubrey Fessenden and Lee de Forest, who helped develop radio.
- And Edwin Howard Armstrong, another radio pioneer.
What You'll Discover in the Book
The book is divided into chapters, each telling a part of this exciting story of invention. Here's a peek at what you'll learn:
- I. Invention Comes to America
- II. The Heroic Age Begins
- III. The Stevenses and Railroading
- IV. Henry, Morse, and the Telegraph
- V. Colt and Other Gunmakers
- VI. McCormick and Farm Machinery
- VII. Ericsson and the Modern Warship
- VIII. Kelly and Steel Refining
- IX. Mergenthaler, Sholes, and Writing Machines
- X. Bell and the Telephone
- XI. Edison and the Electric Light
- XII. Thomson and Alternating-Current Power
- XIII. Selden and the Automobile
- XIV. Langley, The Wrights, and Flying
- XV. Fessenden, De Forest, and Radio
- XVI. The End of the Heroic Age
