Chapters: Pennsylvania roots --Many, many a silant solitary hour --A prospect of considerable profits --An adventurer armed with fortitude --A curious machine for mending politics -- Works of genius and utility -- Wifey, hub, and toot -- Steamboat experiments -- Un succes complet et brillant -- Alias Robert Francis -- Mine is no common cause -- America -- Hudson River triumphs -- Monopolies are justly held as odious -- All the weight on one fulcrum -- The happiness of the earth -- The cupidity of many -- Fickle fortune -- Two such friends -- Useful and honorable amusements -- The nation's benefactor -- Stag at bay.
Summary
Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Fulton flourished in Philadelphia, London, Paris and New York City. Contemporary letters, diaries, paintings and drawings were used in the writing of this book. Fulton begins as a fine arts painter, and then moves on to engineering. He develops the world's first steamboat service, thrusting America to the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. At the same time, he invents a means of raising boats on canals and a system of submarine warfare. Fulton's pursuit of fame and fortune is played out against the backdrop of the American and French revolutions, the Napoleonic wars, the Jefferson administration and the War of 1812. The book shows the extraordinary array of artists, scientists, diplomats, businessmen, and intriguing women with whom he interacted.
