So many people have contributed to the development of this book and it would be impossible to list them all. Some have shared their academic ideas and others provided useful distraction, both of which, at times, were hugely valuable.
My most sincere thanks to my supervisor, Joanna Bourke, who saw the potential in this project many years ago and has been unstinting in her support ever since. Thanks also to David Edgerton for guiding me through the history of technology and providing useful discussion. My colleagues at Imperial College London, first in the Graduate School and then the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Group, have been encouraging throughout and extremely flexible, for which I am most grateful.
Thanks to the people who read chapters, or generously provided useful direction, insight or diversion in London and Cambridge, including Renee Peck, Melanie Woodward, Charlotte Forsyth, Simon Elliston Ball, Catherine Robinson, Philippa Shallard, Kelly Hayes, Duygu Ozcan, Cher Li, Rudi Eliott Lockhart, and Maria Margonis. And thanks, of course, to my family Gillian, Kevin and Laura.
This book could not exist without I.B.Tauris who waited a long time for it to be written but always saw its value. Thanks particularly to Lester Crook and Tomasz Hoskins for their help in its development.