Description

[H]e created a new type of workmen capable of executing his plans, working with, and educating them often with his own hands. Only thus did he triumph, laboring mentally and physically. Watt therefore must always stand among the benefactors of men, in the triple capacity of discoverer, inventor, and constructor. -from "Captured by Steam" The steam engine, steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie notes here, was one of the bases upon which his own fortune was built-so why shouldn't he write a biography of its inventor, James Watt? As Carnegie explores the life and work of "one of the finest characters that ever graced the earth," we learn as much about Carnegie's philosophies of business and personal success as we do about Watt. First published in 1905, this is an unexpected example of Carnegie's spirit of generosity and boundless enthusiasm for science, technology, and the self-made man. Also available from Cosimo Classics: Carnegie's Triumphant Democracy, An American Four-in-Hand in Britain, Round the World, and Autobiography. Entrepreneur and philanthropist ANDREW CARNEGIE (1835-1919) was born in Scotland and emigrated to America as a teenager. His Carnegie Steel Company launched the steel industry in Pittsburgh, and after its sale to J.P. Morgan, he devoted his life to philanthropic causes. His charitable organizations built more than 2,500 public libraries around the world, and gave away more than $350 million during his lifetime.