Scientists and Swindlers: Consulting on Coal and Oil in America, 1820-1890

An "insightful" account of the early fossil fuel industry, the rise of the professional consultant, and the nexus between science and money (Technology and Culture).

In this impressively researched, highly original work, Paul Lucier explains how science became an integral part of American technology and industry in the nineteenth century. Scientists and Swindlers introduces us to a new service of professionals: the consulting scientists. Lucier follows these entrepreneurial men of science o...