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Mr Rosen discusses why good inventors require a healthy dose of delusion and just how much practice (at anything from tennis to blacksmithing) is required to turn a journeyman into a master. The pace sometimes verges on the frenetic. Important figures are introduced only to vanish from the scene a couple of pages later, but it is an enjoyable read, nonetheless.
The author dismisses the more traditional explanations about why the industrial revolution began in Britain—such as an abundance of coal or the insatiable demands of the Royal Navy—concluding, instead, that it was England’s development of the patent system that was the decisive factor. By aligning the incentives of private individuals with those of society, it transformed invention from a hobby pursued by the idle rich into an opportunity for spectacular commercial gain open to anyone with a bit of skill and a good idea. That allowed England to harness the creative potential of its artisan classes in a way that no other country had managed before.
It is a plausible conclusion and Mr Rosen makes a powerful case. Having wisely waited until the very last chapter to reveal that his book, in the end, plumps for intellectual property as the biggest single spur, Mr Rosen retires, content with that thought. That is appropriate in a history, but it would have been interesting to know what Mr Rosen thinks of the way intellectual-capital laws are being challenged at the moment. Biotechnology companies patent genes, the very stuff of life, while scientists worry that this risks compromising basic research. Technology companies take out controversial patents on software or on such “ideas” as being able to order books with a single click, opening patent systems to ridicule. The duration of copyrights, an idea closely related to patents, has been extended again and again by governments captured by vested interests. These are debates of vital importance. After all, the industrial revolution is far from finished.

A. 어휘
dose 1회 복용량, 復用(복용). delusion 妄想(망상), 착각.
blacksmithing 대장장이 기술. journeyman 徒弟(도제)로서 수습기간을 끝낸 직공.
verges on 가장자리에 머물다, 直前(직전)에 있다.
frenetic 광란의, 열광자. vanish 사라지다, 보이지 않다.
read 독서. dismiss 추방하다, 해산하다, 해고하다.
abundance 풍부, 다량. insatiable 만족할 줄 모르는, 매우 탐욕스러운.
the Royal Navy 영국해군. patent 특허. decisive factor 결정적 요인.
align...with ...와 提携(제휴)하다. align 정렬하다, 일렬로 하다.
pursue 추구하다. spectacular 굉장한, 壯觀(장관)의.
commercial gain 상업적 이득. harness 이용하다.
potential 잠재력. artisan classes 匠人(장인)계급.
plausible 그럴싸한, 진실 같은. makes a case of 주장하다.
chapter 章(장), 총회, 支部(지부), 分會(분회).
reveal 나타내다, 폭로하다, 啓示(계시)하다.
plump 쿵하고 떨어지다, 퉁명스럽게 말하다, 지지하다.
spur 격려, 고무, 拍車(박차). appropriate 적합하다. patent 특허를 얻다(주다).
compromise 위태롭게 하다, 타협하다. take out 들어내다.
controversial 논쟁의 여지가 있는. order 주문하다. ridicule 웃음거리.
duration 유효기간. copyright 판권, 저작권.
vested interests 기득권. debates 논쟁.