History of the Manufacture of Iron in All Ages: And Particularly in the United States for Three Hundred Years, 1585-1885

vii, 418 pp. "James Moore Swank (1832-1914) was a US expert on iron and steel, and wrote widely about the industry. In 1873 he became secretary of the American Iron and Steel Association. Swank aimed to move away from the highly technical approach and European focus that had dominated previous works. Instead, he would emphasis names, dates, facts and results, and give special attention to the growth of the industry in the United States while providing an international context. He includes every country and US state that produced iron. The book is organised chronologically, and provides a fascinating account of the manufacture of iron from the ancient Egyptian period through early modern Britain to late nineteenth-century America."