Something that's been sitting on my shelf for a while. . .
I had a class with Kasson in NC, but this is one of his earlier books. Really found it fascinating--wonderful exploration of how we as a nation think about technology and progress. And how those thoughts connect to our republican (small r) ideals--and how that might have seriously messed us up today. This is less about the extraordinary technologial advances of the 19th century (factories! steamships! railroads!) than how we thought about those advances.
Quite useful for one of our upcoming themes at the museum. Great for anyone interested in the intersection of the ideas and ideals of technology and society--but in all honestly, probably only for the history nerd.