James Nasmyth, Engineer: An Autobiography

Civilisation began with tools; and every step in advance has been accomplished through their improvement. James Nasmyth's goal had always been to optimise those tools by applying common sense to the use of materials, which became the core principle of his very own definition of engineering. Reprint of the autobiography originally published in 1885.

The autobiography of one of the last pioneers of the machine tool industry and an amateur astronomer, James Nasmyth, who was most famous for his invention of both the steam hammer and the hydraulic press, instruments still used in engineering today. A list of all his inventions is also given.