Show HISTORY OF THE explosives INDUSTRY IN AMERICA A REVIEW the history of the explosives industry in america was written by arthur pine van gelder and hugo two nationally known explosives chemists published by the columbia university press new york under the auspices of the institute of makers of explosives which has just come from the press is the first definite history of that industry which has appeared in america the book which required three years to write contains 1152 pages and carries illustrations in halftones half tones it covers the entire history of explosives with its many ramifications from gunpowder days down to the present era of american industrial progress 6 in which ex explosives p have played andare and are still playing b a leading part before the appearance of this volume most of thelister the literature on modern explosives in this country was to be found only in papers usually of a technical nature contributed to scientific journals and societies and in house organs and trade journals the rise and progress of the british explosives plo industry published in 1909 was fashioned somewhat like the new volume but the british history is not as comprehensive and not nearly as complete as the present one in writing their history van gelder and made extended and minute searches atthe sources in official records local histories manufacturers files and biographies rap hies covering b nearly years one of the most important things they did was to incorporate in the volume carefully checked data obtained from records in patent issues particularly y those pertaining to interferences and infringements fringe ments they are the first writers on the subject to make inake use of such material for general consumption As a result of their painstaking 6 1 researches the authors have written what amounts to an historical romance concerning americas key industry the book is gratifyingly free of technicalities and statistics that otherwise would make the history dull reading the average american as lie witnesses the ever changing world around him and particularly ticul arly the progress and development of his own country does not discern the important part explosives have played and are still play ingin our industrial and commercial life this volume therefore is a reminder of how a great industry has developed from a small begin beginning ping in in gun powder days to a business which reaches a hand into all the industrial enterprises of the modern man the book is divided into six main divisions divi sjon namely black powder dynamite and nitroglycerin B 1 la stag sup plies smokeless powder military explosive sand ana in the making of america but a mere anum enumeration ration of if these topical headings does docs not begin 6 to d describe e s cr ibe th the e ex hau stive manner in which the lauthers lau thors have treated the marvelous development of the explosives industry and the romantic phases of that development no enterprise of mankind is without its human element and one of the noteworthy qualities of this history is its giuma human d interest aspect written in a style that makes it compa comparable able to an entertaining novel in war and peace it should be borne in mind md explosives have been the key industry so that in war and peace pioneer explosives makers such as the du ponts fonts the e laflius La flins rand hazard coleman king and dozens of others have wrought as thrillingly in the making of america as have many of the nations more popularly known heroes some of the authors best strokes are in their descriptions of th elives the lives of these pioneers the first sentence in the his torys first chapter is the ahe keynote in the development of gunpowder i th the e discovery oi 01 firearms marks one of the most imp important events jahe i history of civilization with that premise the authors carry the reader through some of the most eventful periods of our history to the ithe present day when explosives have become the basic means of innumerable enterprises they them might have said with equal emphasis that the discovery of nitroglycerin and dynamite marks the most important event in in industrial history consider for example the part that explosives play in mining ores and minerals in the building of railroads railroad highways canals tunnels and aqueducts in the deepening of waterways in the removal of obstructions to navigation in the erection of the worlds large buildings in the Te reclaiming claiming ot swamps and andin in the building of huge dams for hydro elec developments the list of modern enterprises in which explosives play a leading and primary part is almost endless I 1 ess and involves many technical details but the authors of 0 this history have described the ubiquitous explosives in american industry in such a way that the average reader will find enjoyment in the book the authors and their sponsors are to be congratulated for having produced a volume which is at once an historical romance and an exhaustive chronicle of the origin and development of one of mans chief industrial enterprises the book affords entertainment and information for the layman as well as an encyclopedia for the thousands of men and women who are engaged in the industry |