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The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World, by Jenny Uglow
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From the celebrated author of Hogarth--An animated, swarming group portrait of the friends who launched the Industrial Revolution
In the 1760s a group of amateur experimenters met and made friends in the English Midlands. Most came from humble families, all lived far from the center of things, but they were young and their optimism was boundless: together they would change the world. Among them were the ambitious toymaker Matthew Boulton and his partner James Watt, of steam-engine fame; the potter Josiah Wedgwood; the larger-than-life Erasmus Darwin, physician, poet, inventor, and theorist of evolution (a forerunner of his grandson Charles). Later came Joseph Priestley, discoverer of oxygen and fighting radical.
With a small band of allies they formed the Lunar Society of Birmingham (so called because it met at each full moon) and kick-started the Industrial Revolution. Blending science, art, and commerce, the Lunar Men built canals; launched balloons; named plants, gases, and minerals; changed the face of England and the china in its drawing rooms; and plotted to revolutionize its soul.
Uglow's vivid, exhilarating account uncovers the friendships, political passions, love affairs, and love of knowledge (and power) that drove these extraordinary men. It echoes to the thud of pistons and the wheeze and snort of engines and brings to life the tradesmen, artisans, and tycoons who shaped and fired the modern age.
- Sales Rank: #894903 in Books
- Published on: 2002-10-30
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.83" h x 6.38" w x 9.76" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 608 pages
Amazon.com Review
In the late 1700s, five gifted inventors and amateur scholars in Birmingham, England, came together for what one of them, Erasmus Darwin, called "a little philosophical laughing." They also helped kick-start the industrial revolution, as Jenny Uglow relates in the lively The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World. Their "Lunar Society" included Joseph Priestley, the chemist who isolated oxygen; James Watt, the Scottish inventor of the steam engine; and Josiah Wedgwood, whose manufacture of pottery created the industrial model for the next century. Joined by other "toymakers" and scholarly tinkerers, they concocted schemes for building great canals and harnessing the power of electricity, coined words such as "hydrogen" and "iridescent," shared theories and bank accounts, fended off embezzlers and industrial spies, and forged a fine "democracy of knowledge." And they had a fine time doing so, proving that scholars need not be dullards or eccentrics asocial.
Uglow's spirited look at this group of remarkable "lunaticks" captures a critical, short-lived moment of early modern history. Readers who share their conviction that knowledge brings power will find this book a rewarding adventure. --Gregory McNamee
From Publishers Weekly
This hefty volume combines prodigious research with an obvious fondness for the subject matter. Uglow, an editor at U.K.'s Chatto & Windus publishing house, garnered praise for her incisive book on the life and images of William Hogarth as well as for her biographies of Elizabeth Gaskell and George Eliot. Here, Uglow details the wild inventions of the 18th century, with the turbulent changes in the Georgian world as backdrop, and so delivers a complete, though at times ponderously detailed, portrait of the men who formed the Lunar Society of Birmingham. The society was a kind of study group for the nascent Industrial Revolution, which would transform England in two generations. Among the lunar men were toy maker Matthew Boulton, James Watt of the steam engine, potter Josiah Wedgwood, Joseph Priestley, who discovered oxygen, and physician and evolutionary theorist Erasmus Darwin, Charles Darwin's grandfather. As Uglow writes, its members met on the full moon (to facilitate travel at night), "warmed by wine and friendship, their heads full of air pumps and elements and electrical machines, their ears ringing with talk, the whirring of wheels and the hiss of gas." Each was accomplished in his profession, and yet each applied boundless reserves of energy and inventiveness to outside interests, from the practical, such as canal-building, herbal medicines and steam-propelled water pumps, to the outright bizarre, such as Erasmus Darwin's fantastic mechanical talking mouth. Uglow's writing has great breadth of subject and character-along with the occasional bawdiness, too.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Uglow, editor at Chatto & Windus and author of Hogarth: A Life and a World, has written a lively account of a remarkable group of individuals, in 18th-century England, when men's clubs proliferated. The clubs not only offered a forum in which individuals with like interests could gather for discussion, but members offered each other physical protection afterward when they left the coffee house, tavern, or private home that served as their meeting place. In the 1760s, in the English Midlands, a group of amateur experimenters came together to form a club called the Lunar Society of Birmingham-so-called because the club met at each full moon. The members included James Watt, inventor of the steam engine; Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin and an inventor and evolutionary theorist in his own right; Josiah Wedgwood, the potter; Joseph Priestly, discoverer of oxygen; Matthew Boulton, the toymaker; and others who would make remarkable contributions to science and industry. The author makes a convincing case for the importance of this talented group, whose efforts, especially James Watt's work with steam engines, would help kickstart the Industrial Revolution. Although the publisher compares this multiple biography with Louis Menand's The Metaphysical Club, the Lunar Society men bore greater resemblance to capitalist doers than philosophers. This work is recommended for public and academic libraries.
Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P.L., MN
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Seeking William Smith
By Leanne Jump
I was dismayed when I discovered that William Smith, the veritable inventor of geology is not even mentioned in Ms Uglow's book. So, maybe Smith was not one of the Lunar Men. But she could have at least mentioned his name. He was a contemporary of the Lunar Men and a designer/builder of many canals. His exploits are detailed in the excellent book, "The Map That Changed the World." I wonder, Smith's discoveries shook the foundations of creationism's 6,000 year old world. The fossils he found were obviously much older than the believed age of God's world. Surely, Ms Uglow didn't leave reference of Smith out for that reason. I think it is sad that her omission tarnishes an otherwise very interesting work.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
First Rate Book on Intellectual History
By A Customer
Excellent book on a fascinating group of men. It is interesting the realize the close connection between these brilliant people, and it is interesting learning about the lesser known members of the circle, who made important contributions in the history of science.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
Great Idea...The Construction is Lacking
By Andrew Desmond
There is much to enjoy about Jenny Uglow's "The Lunar Men". Here, we have the tale of a group of men, known to each other, who truly helped shape the modern world. The names are a "whose who" of early Industrial Age science and industry: James Watt, Erasmus Darwin (yes, the grandfather to Charles), Josiah Wedgewood and Joseph Priestley amongst others. It would have been marvelous to have been in the company of these men; to have been a fly on the wall at their meetings.
Yet, for all the wonder that these names invoke, Jenny Uglow's work fails to provide the reader with a true sense of understanding. The book's theme or direction is not clear. She seems to jump about without explanation and the reader is left to catch up. This is a great shame. Indeed, if the events could have been more succinctly tied together, "The Lunar Men" could have been a great book. As it is, the concept is great but the follow through is lacking.
My recommendation to readers is that the book be read (albeit only with luke warm encouragement) but beware that a theme is missing and no one character stands out. This is a pity as the concept behind the book is grand.
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