472 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE (the post-1969 environmental era is another illustration of this). Of course, the agency was also fortunate in having directors like MacDonald and Page, who insisted not only that decisions should rest on rational “scientific” data and that high standards be maintained but that states be involved in setting and maintaining those standards, even if the BPR initiated them. In the Corps of Engineers, a very different sense of administrative responsibility existed. The corps ac cepted that the final decision was inevitably political, not technical, no matter how good the engineering plans. One cannot help but be impressed with the consistent vision the BPR’s leaders had throughout most of the period covered in this book. This vision reflected values that served the organization well, includ ing a faith in cooperative efforts with states and in the capability of engineers to produce a better society. Common values, in turn, led to a homogeneous culture, one that emphasized professional commit ment, expertise, and leadership. I hope Seely continues to explore the world of the public engineer; comparisons and contrasts are needed. However, he already offers much. His book should be read both by historians of technology and by practicing engineers. After all, it may be that the story of “engineers as policy makers” is the quintessential story of the 20th century. Martin Reuss Dr. Reuss is senior civil works historian in the headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He is currently working on a study of water politics in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana from the end of the 18th century to the present, a subject on which he published an article in the May 1988 issue of Environment. The Economic and Social Effects of the Spread ofMotor Vehicles. Edited by Theo Barker. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Sheridan House (145 Palisade Street 10522), 1987. Pp. xiii + 324; tables, notes, index. $39.95. Until the early 1960s, historians of ground transportation generally concentrated on steam railroads, urban street railways, and interurbans . The 1970s and early 1980s marked the appearance of numerous studies of the automobile and its economic, social, and political effects. Between World War I and the energy crisis of the 1970s, the United States and Western Europe dominated both the production and con sumption of motorized vehicles. It is not surprising that scholars from those countries dominated the International Historical Congress held at Stuttgart in August 1985. This volume shares the findings of eigh teen scholars in fifteen papers. Finding a central thesis in collections of papers from any conference is usually difficult; the problem is compounded when scholars rep resent nine separate countries and reflect widely varying social, eco TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 473 nomic, and political views. Editor Theo Barker summarizes the worldwide influence of motor vehicles in the past century in a long introductory chapter. He also observes that, although scholars have studied production and adoption of automobiles in considerable depth, “very little has been written in any organized way about the effects of motor vehicles of all sorts when they left the factory and took to the roads” (p. ix). Barker cites a paucity of research investigating the competition between railroad and commercial vehicle interests over expansion and maintenance of roads, regulation of traffic, and other important issues. The papers presented here “aim to show how and where these momentous developments took place in various parts of the world” (p. x). The scholars essentially agreed on four points. First, German in ventors Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz brought gasoline-powered engines to the point where they provided reliable power for wheeled vehicles, but they lacked entrepreneurial skills and marketing flair. Second, French racers and businessmen took advantage of some of the best roads in the world in making the commercial possibilities evident. Third, largely because of its incredibly deep social demand for motor vehicles, the United States took the lead in production and consumption before World War I. Fourth, with higher fuel costs and denser patterns of settlement, 20th-century European planners had greater incentives than American decision makers to regulate care fully the mix of transportation technologies. The papers vary significantly both in subject matter and level...