This weighty tome is part of the hugely successful 1001 series, by Cassell Illustrated, now part of Octopus. Other titles in the series included 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die. The preface to this book was written by the wonderful inventor Trevor Baylis (1937 – 2018), best known for inventing the wind-up radio.
There are many books for which I have only written a part, and those don’t make the list of books I have written … apart from this one. I have included it here because, as general editor, I was responsible for drawing up the list of 1001 inventions (no mean feat!), setting the book’s tone, commissioning the other authors and checking and editing the other authors’ work. So, I really feel this is largely my book.