{"product_id":"laboratory-of-progress-1","title":"Laboratory of Progress","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Laboratory of Progress: Switzerland in the 19th Century\u003c\/em\u003e tells the improbable story of how a small, backward, mountainous agricultural country with almost no raw materials became an industrial powerhouse, a hub of innovation, a touristic mecca and a pioneer in transportation – all in the course of a single century. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat a tiny landlocked country should become a dominant steamship builder for the rest of the world; that a country that had never seen a cotton plant should become the world’s second-largest textile producer; that a country with hardly any level terrain should come to boast the world’s most highly developed railway network; and that a country whose main export was impoverished emigrants should be transformed into one of the world’s major financial centres – these astonishing developments, among many others, are explored and explained, both through the specific stories of individual innovators and through a prescient analysis of the political, economic, societal and cultural structures that formed the context in which Switzerland’s astonishing transformation took place. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eis a compelling read both for professional historians and for general readers with an interest in Switzerland; it highlights the roles of transport networks and individual pioneers in industrial and political development.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Taylor \u0026 Francis Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54237567746392,"sku":"9781032152240","price":192.2,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781032152240_74d97e0c-53d4-4d8b-a834-282a6c5d57eb.jpg?v=1780396265","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/laboratory-of-progress-1","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}