Book excerpt: Get the Summary of Brian Merchant's Blood in the Machine in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. "Blood in the Machine" delves into the socio-economic turmoil of early 19th-century England, where the Industrial Revolution's rise of automated machinery threatened traditional livelihoods. George Mellor, a skilled cropper, and Gravener Henson, a framework knitter and activist, become central figures in the narrative, representing the struggle of workers against the degradation of their trades. The book portrays the Luddite movement's fight against the mechanization that displaced skilled labor, leading to protests and machine-breaking incidents...