"Lives of Boulton and Watt" is a fascinating account of the most important partnership of the Industrial Revolution; the engineering firm of 'Boulton and Watt'. James Watt transformed steam engine technology in the eighteenth century by inventing the more powerful and efficient condensing engine. He collaborated with businessman Matthew Boulton to form a successful engineering firm in 1773, which went on to monopolise the production of steam engines in England for the rest of that century. The lives and work of these two men is brought vividly to life by biographer Samuel Smiles, who, through extensive access to their business documents and personal correspondence, examines the important role they played in the wider history of the invention and development of the steam engine.