I found Herbert Hoover's translation of De Re Metallica[1] to be fascinating. A compendium of the technology of the day for processing most metals. I also foun

I found Herbert Hoover's translation of De Re Metallica[1] to be fascinating. A compendium of the technology of the day for processing most metals. I also found Longitude[2]: "The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time" to be an interesting account of the solving of the problem of nautical timekeeping. I second the nomination of Simon Winchester's book "The Perfectionists" [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_re_metallica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_re_metallica [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_(book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_(book)