Danny Ross is the brightest rising star in EarthWatch, the "eyes in the sky" organization expediting relief efforts in large-scale disasters. Tragically orphaned in childhood, Danny has become a disaster junkie. His expansive knowledge on the subject uncovers a disturbing pattern in mortality rates from major catastrophes worldwide. Whenever deaths from natural causes wane, human-spawned disasters crop up to cover the shortfall. And the death toll rises in step with global population. In effect, someone is orchestrating a human cull. Danny's alarming discovery puts him in the crosshairs of a rich and powerful covert society, the Philosopher Kings. Meanwhile, the FBI wants him for two murders he didn't commit. In a desperate race to learn the truth and clear his name, he stumbles onto the next scheduled disaster. Question is, will he be able to stop it?

This volume features 15 contributors who argue that technical change can fruitfully be interpreted as an institutionally-structured learning process. These essays show that the analysis of knowledge-generating institutions - including firms, industries, patenting systems and occupations - provides insights into the pace, direction and persistence of technological change. The authors use these insights to both reshape economic theory, and reinterpret the economic development of Britain, the United States, Germany and Japan. Other titles by Ross Thomson includes "The Path to Mechanized Shoe Production in the United States", "Business and Economic History", " The Journal of Economic History", "The New Palgrave", "Social Concept" and "Technology and Culture".

In this book, fifteen prominent scholars of the economy, business, and technology argue that technical change can fruitfully be interpreted as an institutionally structured learning process. These essays show that the analysis of knowledge-generating institutions - including firms, industries, patenting systems, and occupations - provides important insights into the pace, direction, and persistence of technological change. The authors use these insights to both reshape economic theory and reinterpret the economic development of Britain, the USA, Germany and Japan.

Danny Ross is the brightest rising star in EarthWatch, the "eyes in the sky" organization expediting relief efforts in large-scale disasters. Tragically orphaned in childhood, Danny has become a disaster junkie. His expansive knowledge on the subject uncovers a disturbing pattern in mortality rates from major catastrophes worldwide. Whenever deaths from natural causes wane,human-spawned disasters crop up to cover the shortfall. And the death toll rises in step with global population. In effect, someone is orchestrating a human cull. Danny's alarming discovery puts him in the crosshairs of a rich and powerful covert society, the Philosopher Kings. Meanwhile, the FBI wants him for two murders he didn't commit. In a desperate race to learn the truth and clear his name, he stumbles onto the next scheduled disaster. Question is, will he be able to stop it?

In 1800, shoes in the United States were made by craftsmen, each trained to create an entire shoe. A century later, shoes were mass-produced in factories employing dozens of machines and specialized workers. Ross Thomson describes this transition from craft to mechanized production in one of the largest American industries of the nineteenth century.
Early shoe machinery originated through innovations made by shoemakers, tailors, and especially machinists. It continued to evolve through a process of "learning by selling," in which sales of one generation of machines led to technological learning and ongoing invention by those who used, serviced, and sold them. As a result of this process, the mechanization of the shoe industry and the manufacturers of the machinery it used -- including such firms as Singer and United Shoe Machinery -- evolved together.
In researching the process of industrialization, Thomson examined nearly 8,000 patents. Comparing the patent information with directories for more than eighty American cities, he was able to find out who the inventors were, who employed them, how many patents they held, and the extent to which their inventions were used.
Originally published in 1989.
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