Download or read book Creating the Twentieth Century written by Distinguished Professor Department of Environment Vaclav Smil and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2005-08-25 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The two pre-World War I generations encompassed the greatest innovative period in history. Technical inventions of 1867-1914 & their rapid improvement & commercialisation created new prime movers, materials, infrastructures & information means that provided the lasting foundations of the modern world.