A sumptuous visual history of the steampunk counterculture movement includes coverage of innovations and styles as envisioned by authors ranging from Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to Hayao Miyazaki and Philip Pullman.

Introduction: unleashing steampunk -- The Gilded Age -- From cyberpunk to steampunk -- Reinventing the Victorians -- A young lady's primer -- Nitrate nightmares and selenium dreams -- Clockwork graphics -- An empire strikes back -- Of cogs and corsets -- Back to the future.