A tremendous piece of scholarship . . . should be read not just by by students of Watt but also by scholars concerned with chemistry, engineering, commemoration and reputation building from the mid-eighteenth century."" - British Journal for the History of Science

""Will be especially valuable to readers interested in the science of the period. Highly recommended."" - Choice

""Miller has an enjoyable writing style. . . . The balance of the book is good and the 16-page bibliography is very wide ranging."" - Notes & Records of the Royal Society

""Miller concludes his fascinating study of reputation with an analysis of Watt's indicator in its late-eighteenth-century and ninteenth-century manifestations."" - Victorian Studies

""Miller adds significantly to our understanding of phlogistic chemistry in late eighteenth-century Britain and, via his account of Watt's role in the 'water controversy,' the Chemical Revolution itself. . . . It is a measure of his considerable acumen and talents as a historian that he achieves his novel and illuminating insights through a carefully crafted, exhaustively documented and tightly argued analysis of a period in the history of science which, though still poorly understood, transformed our comprehension and utilization of that most ubiquitous and precious substance, water."" - Annals of Science

""The analysis is consistently convincing, the range of sources consulted is impressive, and the prose is direct and simple-yet always interesting."" - Metascience