Overview

The Laboratory of Progress: Switzerland in the 19th Century 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. That 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. The book is 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.

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9781032152288

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Reviews

"""Jung is an outstanding storyteller. Here he offers up an economic, transport, tourism and emigration history of Switzerland, well embedded in its context. The work is easy to read; Jung captivates the reader with his tales of the successes and failures of his pioneers."" Michael Kitzing, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Germany ""This book presents the brilliant transformation of Switzerland in the 19th century, in which this country and its political system surpassed most other European nations in democratic progress."" Holger Böhning, Jahrbuch für Kommunikationsgeschichte ""An excellent, carefully illustrated and excitingly written panorama of an important chapter in Swiss history."" Jürg Müller, Schweizer Revue"

Author Information

Joseph Jung is Professor Emeritus at the University of Fribourg and the author of bestselling biographies of the preeminent Swiss politician Alfred Escher and his daughter Lydia Welti-Escher, among many other works. He has received numerous awards for his pioneering research into 19th-century Swiss economic and cultural history.

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