INVENTION IN AMERICA
by Russell Bourne (Fulcrum Publishing, 160 pages, $32.95). Complemented by seldom-seen images from the Library of Congress, Bourne’s work spotlights the wide range of inventions that changed America from an agricultural society to an industrialized one during the years 1790-1920. Highlighted are Eli Whitney’s (1765-1825) cotton gin; Samuel Colt’s (1814-62) revolver; Elias Howe’s (1819-67) sewing machine; Samuel Morse’s (1791-1872) telegraph; Alexander Graham Bell’s (1847-1922) telephone; and the many inventions of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), who set up the U.S. Patent Office to protect the rights of inventors.
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