The machines are coming! Winter is coming! Those are some of my favorite aphorisms of late; the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the fourth industrial revolution. The thing with history is that it does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. I have always been curious about the industrial revolution; why did it take place in Britain? Why did America eventually become the eventual pacesetter in that revolution? What are the similarities between the victorian inspired industrial revolution and the present day 4th industrial revolution? The role of industrialization in the world wars?

The great courses class answers a lot of these questions, with 36 Lectures in 18 hours

The Industrial Revolution Great Courses class covers the emergence of the Industrial Revolution in 18th century Britain and the spread of its inventions and ideas to the fledgling United States, seeking to show how and why this great modern transformation occurred.

From the steam engine to the horseless carriage, the rise of the factory to the role of immigrant labor, the course provides insight not only into the historical period but also into the birth of modern life and work as we know it.