Preface : my grandparents workshop
Failure and success in manufacturing : the gm-toyota nummi joint venture
The age of the artisan
The stone age
The urban revolution : the emergence of society
Advances during antiquity
The middle-ages in europe
The industrial revolution : manufacturing gets mechanized
Early modern europe
Pioneers of a new age : the factory system
Fire is stronger than blood and water : steam power
Interchangeable parts : the end of filing in assembly
Social conflict
Modern times : mass production for the masses
Technological advances
Science meets shop floor
The assembly line and the era of the industrial empires
Centrally planned economies : war, communism and other catastrophes
*click* let-me-do-this-for-you *clack* : computers in manufacturing
The toyota production system and lean manufacturing
The cutting edge
Where are we now?
Things to come
Appendix
Timelines.