Beginning with the taming of fire and the development of the first boats, this inspiring look at the progress of engineering encompasses Roman sewers and the development of gunpowder, the invention of the laser and Curiosity's first trek on Mars. Here are astonishing structures (the Parthenon, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Burj Khalifa), vehicles (automobile, jumbo jet, Maglev train), and innovations that changed society (paper, the telephone, the World Wide Web). Illustrated throughout with photographs and period illustrations, this book also includes capsule biographies on the discipline's greatest thinkers, and a pullout poster with a timeline of 1,000 important breakthroughs.