James Watt

"When the publishers asked me to write the Life of Watt, I declined, stating that my thoughts were upon other matters. This settled the question, as I supposed, but in this I was mistaken. Why shouldn't I write the Life of the maker of the steam-engine, out of which I had made fortune? Besides, I knew little of the history of the Steam Engine and of Watt himself, and the surest way to obtain knowledge was to comply with the publisher's highly complimentary request. In short, the subject would not down, and finally, I was compelled to write again, telling them that the idea haunted me, and if they still desired me to undertake it, I should do so with my heart in the task.

"I now know about the steam-engine, and have also had revealed to me one of the finest characters that ever graced the earth. For all this I am deeply grateful to the publishers.

"The result is this volume. If the public, in reading, have one tithe of the pleasure I have had in writing it, I shall be amply rewarded." -The Author

CONTENTS

Authors Preface

I. Childhood and Youth

II. Glasgow to London—Return to Glasgow

III. Captured by Steam

IV. Partnership with Roebuck

V. Boulton Partnership

VI. Removal to Birmingham

VII. Second Patent

VIII. The Record of the Steam Engine

IX. Watt in Old Age

X. Watt, the Inventor and Discoverer

XI. Watt, the Man

This biography is as much about the nature of human virtue as it is about technology and business, and reveals great insight into the mindset and character of its author, Andrew Carnegie.