Dedication -- Acknowledgements -- 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 -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the author.