Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This Biographical Dictionary seeks to put the world of technology in the context of those who have made the most important contribution to it.
For the first time information has been gathered on the people who have made the most significant advances in technology. From ancient times to the present day, the major inventors, discoverers and entrepreneurs from around the world are profiled, and their contribution to society explained and assessed.

Structure
The Dictionary presents descriptive and analytical biographies of its subjects in alphabetical order for ease of reference. Each entry provides detailed information on the individual's life, work and relevance to their particular field.
* in the first part of the entry, the information will include the dates and places of the subject's birth and death, together with their nationality and their field of activity
* in the main body of the entry there follows an account of their principal achievements and their significance in the history of technology, along with full details of appointments and honours
* finally an annotated bibliography will direct the reader to the subject's principal writings and publications and to the most important secondary works which the reader can consult for further information.

Special Features:

* The first work in existence to examine technologists in detail
* Contains over 1,500 entries giving detailed information
* Extensive cross-references enable the reader to compare subjects and build up a picture of technological advance^ * Figures drawn from fields such as Aeronautics, Telecommunications, Architecture, Photography and Textiles

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This volume contains 1,300 biographical sketches of key figures in the development of scientific and industrial technologies. The sketches range in length from a single paragraph (Pierre Fauchard, 1678-1761, dental fillings) to more than two double-column pages (Thomas Edison). Each entry begins with places and dates of birth and death and a terse statement of the subject's principal contribution; each ends with a brief bibliography or suggestions for further reading. A useful "Index by Subject Area" ends the volume, and there are conventional indexes of topics and names. The focus is necessarily on the 18th century through the present, but a few figures from ancient times (e.g., Archimedes of Syracuse) are inconsistently included. Day states that the starting point for inclusion was the name index to Encyclopaedia of the History of Technology, ed. by McNeil (1990). Like the earlier work, this dictionary leans toward British and continental pioneers at the expense of Americans. There is an entry for Henry Bell, who launched a steamboat in the Clyde River in 1812, but none for James Rumsey (who demonstrated steam propulsion on the Potomac River in 1787) or John Fitch (who operated a steamboat service between Philadelphia and New Jersey as early as 1790). An entry for Robert Fulton mentions Fitch in passing, but not Rumsey or Oliver Evans, whose own entry emphasizes his inventive genius as a millwright and minimizes his work in steam power. Although "Agricultural and Food Technology" is one of the subject areas, the Kellogg brothers and C.W. Post are missing. The breakfast cereal pioneers appear in an article on the topic in World of Invention, ed. by Bridget Travers (1994), which also contains separate entries for Fitch and Rumsey. Where courses in the history of technology are offered regularly, Day and McNeil will be essential. Smaller libraries that already own the less scholarly World of Invention and a recent Dictionary of Scientific Biography may wish to wait for a price reduction for the Biographical Dictionary. J. W. Barnes Shepherd College

Booklist Review

In 1990 Routledge published An Encyclopedia of the History of Technology, edited by Ian McNeil. Two of the 22 chapters in that volume were contributed by Lance Day. Now McNeil and Day are coeditors of a biographical dictionary sketching the work of nearly 1,300 persons of all cultures and all times whom they judge to have made "a significant contribution . . . to the advance of technology." Technology is defined as such areas as aeronautics, broadcasting, electronics, medical technology, railways, and weapons. Ampere, Boeing, Goodyear, Lever, McAdam, Pasteur, and Westinghouse are some of the familiar names covered. Among the few living subjects are Steven P. Jobs and Stephen G. Wozniak. The preface discusses the decisions made with respect to the selection of names, including acknowledging that the name index of the above-mentioned encyclopedia was a starting point for this selection. Biographical Dictionary was compiled with a conscious effort to avoid duplicating dictionaries of scientists such as the multivolume Dictionary of Scientific Biography. The preface further states that most of the biographees are "male, white, European (including North American)." Fewer than one-fourth of the engineers and inventors with biographies in The African American Almanac (6th ed., Gale, 1994) are in this work, and fewer than a dozen women are included. The signed entries follow a standard sequence: dates and places of birth and death, the subject's nationality and a brief statement of his or her principal achievements, a biography of 250-500 words, honors and distinctions, a bibliography of the individual's publications, and selected references to literature where further information can be found. Names printed in boldface type in the text indicate cross-references. There are numerous see and see also references as well. The dictionary concludes with three indexes: by subject, name, and broad topic. The Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology will provide academic and public libraries with much useful information. (Reviewed April 1, 1996)