{"product_id":"the-medieval-machine-the-industrial-revolution-of-the-middle-ages-9780760735824","title":"The Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of the Middle AgesANNOTATIONThe industrial structure of the medieval world serves as a foundation for the coming Renaissance in this technological and historical study.SYNOPSISThe common  simplistic view of the Middle Ages as religion-centered and materially backward is challenged by Jean Gimpel in this milestone study  originally published in 1976. The Medieval Machine tells how  between the years 900 and 1300  Europeans created their first industrial revolution  which set Western civilization on the road to global dominance. Gimpel describes the main features of this early machine age: the pervasive use of waterpower (the oil of the medieval era); the agricultural innovations that energized the population through better nourishment; the spread of mining along with mechanized iron mills; and the appearance of modern industrial problems such as labor unrest and pollution. This is a story of technology triumphant: architect-engineers were adulated; there were tallest-building contests like those of thetwentieth century. The climax comes with the invention of the key modern device-the mechanical clock. The subsequent technological decline  Gimpel explains  was due to plague  famine  and a reversion to mysticism.In the epilogue  Gimpel asserts that the West in his time faced another technological decline; he did not foresee the digital boom of the 1980s and 90s and the development of a post-industrial economies. Nevertheless  his predictions may provide valuable material for historians of the recent past.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45280012632117,"sku":"ByrdShop_0760735824","price":69.88,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780760735824.jpg?v=1780617592","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-medieval-machine-the-industrial-revolution-of-the-middle-ages-9780760735824","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}