"The Boilerplate Rag"

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Steampunk met Forrest Gump? If so, you really should check out "Boilerplate * History's Mechanical Marvel*" by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett.

A mechanical man, built in 1893 comes into contact with major historical figures though the first World War. That's kind of an understatement. He was created with the help of Tesla, unveiled at the Chicago World's fair, inspired Baum to create the Tin Man, befriends the last queen of Hawai'i, got involved in the Pullman strike, reached the South Pole 16 years before Amundsen, built railroads in Africa, panned for gold in the Klondike, dug the panama canal, sailed around the world on the White Fleet, boxed with Jack Johnson, rode with the Rough Riders, fought in the Philippine engagement, met Mark Twain and Jack London, fought against the Boxer Rebellion, witnessed an early Russo-Japanese war battle, rode with Pancho Villa (don't worry, he was embedded), rode the deserts with Lawrence of Arabia, and disappeared while fighting for the Americans in the Hundred Days Offensive; he was most likely captured by the Germans, the result of which was their amazing technological advancement during WWII.

The premise, I must admit, grows wearisome by the end. As a self proclaimed coffee table book, then I can see its merits: you take it in small doses. But I sat and read the book from start to finish and grew tired. The best part is the outstanding research done for this book. I'm not kidding, I spent months researching Sri Lankan culture and history for a game and this team makes me look like an amateur (which I am, so that's cool). From the start, the genius inventor, Archibald Campion is given reason to want to create a mechanical soldier. His sisters fiance is killed in a little known Korean conflict in 1871. Guinan and Bennett tell us his name is Lt. Hugh McKee. I looked him up online. He was one of three Americans killed during this early Korean conflict. This level of detail continues through the book. On page 138 a small picture references "The Boilerplate Rag" as a song written in 1903 about the mechanical man. If you look carefully at the picture, you can see the composers name is Mark Nuismer. I looked him up, expecting at best a friend of the authors. Nope, this guy was a minor Ragtime composer at the turn of the century who wrote a song called... Boilerplate.

The book is not for everyone, but if your library has a copy I suggest checking it out for a few weeks. just take your time with it.