Published in 2004, Steam: The Untold Story of America’s First Great Invention by Andrea Sutcliffe explores the race to develop America’s first successful steamboat during the nation’s earliest years.

At the center of the story is inventor John Fitch, who constructed and demonstrated an operating steamboat decades before steam-powered vessels became common on American waterways. The book follows Fitch’s experiments, financial struggles, and competition with other inventors, including James Rumsey. It also examines the later achievements of Robert Fulton, whose name eventually became closely associated with the commercial success of the steamboat.

Sutcliffe places these inventions within the larger story of early America, connecting the development of steam transportation with notable figures such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. The book shows that the steamboat was not the accomplishment of a single inventor, but the result of experimentation, rivalry, persistence, and continuous technological improvement.

Displayed in the Power Mechanical Steam Museum, this book helps tell the human story behind steam innovation. It complements the museum’s machinery and steam-powered vessels by highlighting the inventors whose ideas helped transform water transportation and support America’s industrial growth.