Introduction: The varieties of efficiency
Static and dynamic efficiency: the waterwheels of Smeaton and the Franklin Institute
The effects of control: Gérard-Joseph Christian and perfected machines
Economy of nature: Darwin, Marshall, and the costs of efficiency
Balance and transformation: technical and popular efficiency in the Progressive Era United States
An island of mechanical predictability: efficient worker seating in late Weimar Germany
Pride in efficiency: the dispute over Time on the cross
Global efficiency: an enduring industrial value in a postindustrial world
Conclusion: The future of efficiency
Notes
Bibliographic essay
Index.