Internal Fire; The internal Combustion Engine, 1673-1900

Internal Fire symbolizes the explosive release of a fuel’s energy. It breeds the expansive force that is transformed into productive work in a machine called an internal-combustion engine. Cummins, engine historian and engineer, leads us step by step along the development path.

Reviewers Say:

“Outstanding Academic Book, 1977.” “A notable contribution to the history of power technology….highly recommended for all libraries.”
--Choice, Journal of the American Libraries Association.

“…eminently readable, even by the mechanically innocent, treating his subjects with humor, understanding and affection.”
--Road & Track

“This new and well-researched work has at last provided a very readable account of the work and the people concerned in the search for a more efficient heat engine cycle….Internal Fire is a major contribution in a sparsely covered area.”
--The Newcomen Society Bulletin

Internal Fire is the story of how the engine came to be and the creative people whose lives were so entwined with the fruits of their labors. From gunpowder to diesel engines, these early powerplants are described in a down-to-earth manner as are the factors that shaped the course of their development. Interactions from other technologies, a consequence of patents, obtainable fuels, and a new understanding of the very nature of heat itself are all explored.

Internal Fire is not intended to be a textbook, but a well-researched and readable chronicle of a mechanical servant so strongly influencing life in the twentieth century and beyond.

Internal Fire; The internal Combustion Engine, 1673-1900, by Lyle Cummins
Sewn Cloth, Hard Cover, Dustjacket, 350 text pages, 129 text drawings, 76 pages B&W glossy photos, 9 1/4” x 6 1/8”

$39.00