I'm no Luddite - far from it - but the ways in which in this development has been spoken of seem blind to, or completely uninterested in, what cannot be machine read and searched for: the pounce, sweat marks, soot, or wax; the non-semantic yet semiotically rich substrate that OCR strips away.

Thanks so much Andrew. Happy to send you a copy of Green Victorians Patrick. I should add that I have just finished an environmental history of the Industrial Revolution which will be out with Princeton next year.

Hi Michael. Yes, absolutely. That said, Wrigley's Continuity, Chance and Change is probably a little easier to digest for UGs but if you want to talk about energy the later book is much better since it has the benefit of Paul Warde's path-breaking empirical work.

☺️ Thanks Robert!

Hi Jeff,
I have a book on the making of Britain's fossil fuel economy in the works, which should be out next year if all goes well. In the meantime, I warmly recommend Emma Griffin's introduction to the Industrial Revolution and Maxine Berg and Pat Hudson's book on slavery and industry.

I'm on your wife's side, but it goes without saying the trade-off between bikes and pedestrians is a pretty nice problem to have. In Chicago, bicycling is a dangerous business in many places.

I am struck by how narrow the pedestrian lanes are in many places and how quick the traffic lights are compared with Stockholm or Chicago. Bicycles really seem to be the norm, even compared to walking.

Congratulations Thea. Very glad to read and teach your book

Thanks Matthew. Glad to hear our little book was of some use. Moritz and I have not forgotten about your kind invitation.

Excellent! Hope you enjoy it. Especially curious to hear what you make of the chapter about the Collingwood children's magazine Nothing Much.