Published in 1933, the second edition of Elementary Steam Power Engineering was written by engineer Edgar MacNaughton as a comprehensive introduction to steam-power plants and their machinery.

The book explains how heat from fuel is converted into useful mechanical and electrical power. Its subjects include steam boilers and accessories, combustion, draft systems, coal and ash handling, feedwater equipment, reciprocating steam engines, turbines, condensers, pumps, and methods for measuring plant efficiency.

MacNaughton combined engineering theory with diagrams, calculations, tables, and examples of operating power stations. The book helped students and working engineers understand individual pieces of equipment as well as how those components worked together within a complete steam plant.

This volume reflects an era when steam remained central to electrical generation, manufacturing, transportation, and other essential industries. Many of the fundamental principles it teaches—heat transfer, combustion, pressure, efficiency, and energy conversion—remain important in modern power engineering.