Debating the Industrial Revolution (Debates in World History) - Softcover

Intended for use in classrooms, priced reasonably, and written at a level accessible to an American college freshman, Debating the Industrial Revolution by Peter Stearns serves both process- and content-related purposes. Each chapter addresses major "debates" about industrialization-the role of natural resources, for instance, or of proto-industrialization, or of individuals in helping to advance social and economic transformation. Simultaneously, Stearns introduces such basic elements of historical process as determining the difference between correlation and causation, understanding quantitative versus qualitative arguments, and attempting to recognize that historians' biases may influence their ability to fairly consider interpretive questions. * Journal of British Studies * Debating the Industrial Revolution asks the right questions. Firmly rooted in the British case and its European context, but engaging the process of industrialization, this work is appropriate for global history courses. Peter Stearns formulates easy-to-understand questions based on complex issues of historical causation and economic development. By emphasizing the multiple linkages between political power and economics as well as the vital role of individuals, Stearns encourages students to interrogate the problem of industrialization comparatively and to formulate their own approaches to answering the key questions posed here. * Jeff Horn, Professor of History, Manhattan College, USA * Forget the old textbooks that bored students and other readers witless with endless statistics and indecipherable economic theory. This new book captures the debates about a venerable topic, the British Industrial Revolution, in an engaging and open-ended way. At each step we are captivated by Peter Stearns' breadth of his reading, the acuity of his summaries, and the lack of condescension as he suggests why historians might have followed one path or another, only to meet problems of evidence or coherence that then took them in yet new directions. * Robert Pascoe, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia * No one has written about the rise and spread of industrialization on a global scale as perceptively and as rigorously comparatively as Peter Stearns. This concise overview of one of the most pivotal processes in all of human history raises the key questions, considers the major debates, and explores the diverse consequences for societies and states that are relevant, and increasingly urgent, for the present and future of our troubled planet. * Michael Adas, Rutgers University, USA *

The industrial revolution was and is a huge development and one of the fundamental changes in human experience in the modern world. In Debating the Industrial Revolution, Peter N. Stearns, a leading expert in world history, presents the major contours of the ongoing debates over industrialization in history. He explores the central historical discussion over what caused such a momentous change, demonstrating how interpretations have developed over time and encouraging students to critically engage with historical practice. Trying to understand why industrialization happened, and why it continues to happen, continues to organize considerable analytical energy. This book will be the ideal primer for students wanting to understand the key debates, and get a sense of how they might develop in the future.