At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth-century England, standards of measurement were established, giving way to the development of machines that make other machines. Eventually, the application of precision tools and methods resulted in the creation and mass production of items from guns and glass to mirrors, lenses, and cameras, and eventually gave way to further breakthroughs, including gene splicing, microchips, and the Hadron Collider.  Winchester introduces the scientific minds that helped usher in modern production: John Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. It was Thomas Jefferson who later exported their discoveries to the fledgling United States, setting the nation on its course to become a manufacturing titan. Winchester moves forward through time, to today's cutting-edge developments occurring around the world, from America to Western Europe to Asia.