The wind is a fickle source of power; with speeds frequently too low to be of sustained practical use, wind power has generally remained a marginal resource. Since the inception of windpower around AD 1000, technology has been deployed to obtain most economical power possible from wind.

Richard Hills traces the technical evolution of windpower, concentrating on the growth in understanding of wind and charting crucial developments in windmill design. Whilst the core of the book focuses on northwestern Europe, the origins of the horizontal windmill in Persia, Tibet and China are also examined, as well as the widespread use of windpower for water supply in North America.

Gradually, windmills were improved but were finally eclipsed by steam engines in the 19th century with growing industrialisation of the Western economies. The book concludes with an optimistic outlook for windpower, given the heightened interest in renewable sources of energy and more efficient power transmission

1. This is a book for all those interested in the history of industrial and technological development, as well as those who are simply attracted by the romance of windmills.