Who was the inventor of the steamboat? James Thomas Flexner is frankly more interested in personalities than in mechanics. Exploring the fascinating byways of early America, he has packed his book with personal histories: John Fitch, the driven genius; Fulton, the brilliant schemer; Ramsey, the charming backwoods tavern-keeper, playing for Washington's political favor--and many others, no less alive and interesting. He tells their stories as a race for success, and he does not award the verdict until the last page. He completely satisfies those who want to know the mechanical facts; but his emphasis is on the nature of inventive genius, and its effect on the world of men.