From the reviews: "This book is a must for ancient historians, an asset for historians of technology of any period and an eye-opener to the general reader..." (Classic Review, 36:1, 1986) "This is really a book about evidence and sources and how to handle them. It is as much historiographical as historical, displaying thereby a typical North American pre-occupation with sources at the expense of subjects. As the work of reference in its field this book is indispensable and impressive and unfortunately it is saddled with the price of a reference book as well." (The Newcomen Society Bulletin, August 1986)