How did Western Europe, engulfed in political chaos after the fall of Rome, rise by the time of Columbus to world leadership in technology? This book tells how the "silent contribution of many hands and minds" wrought a technological revolution that was marked by such key inventions as the horse collar, the vertical waterwheel, the spinning wheel, the flying buttress, the blast furnace and the art of printing. By tracing these and other devlopments and the way they affected everyday life, the authors show how certain innovations created the Western civilization that spread around the world. Frances and Joseph Gies are the authors of "Life in a Medieval Village", "Life in a Medieval Castle" and "Women in the Middle Ages".