"Victorian Technology: Invention, Innovation, and the Rise of the Machine" captures the extraordinary surge of energy and invention that catapulted 19th-century England into the position of the world's first industrialized nation. It was an astonishing transformation, one that shaped - and was shaped by - the values of the Victorian era, and that laid the groundwork for the consumer-based society in which we currently live. Filled with vivid details and fascinating insights into the impact of the Industrial Revolution on peoples' lives, "Victorian Technology" locates the forerunners of the defining technologies of the our time in 19th-century England: the computer, the Internet, mass transit, and mass communication. Readers will encounter the innovative thinkers and entrepreneurs behind history-making breakthroughs in communications (the transatlantic cable, wireless communication), mass production (the integrated factory), transportation (railroads, gliders, automobiles), and more. Picture books can provide a short and focused stimulant to promote discussion and further investigation into topics as diverse as mathematical concepts, science topics, geography (landform and locations for example), and language arts skills. At the same time, personal narratives offer a glimpse into the human factors present. It features a chronology marking dates of important inventions and innovations, the passage of laws relating to finance and working conditions, workers' organizations, and transformations in warfare. It includes detailed drawings and photographs of inventions and structures, such as the locomotive, steam engine, iron bridges and railways stations, the Crystal Palace, and the Victorian computer.