"At the crossroads of industry and ideology, Useche reveals the 'semiological engine' of a paradigm shift in fin-de-siglo Spain that spans the discursive horizon of modernization and progress. Attentive to economics, education, labor practices, technology, and the environment, this study explores how coetaneous, often contradictory currents of thought confronted change through new ways of imagining a symbolic advancement that was at once liberating and threatening for Spain’s tomorrow."

Travis Landry, editor of The Fruits of the Struggle in Diplomacy and War: Moroccan Ambassador al-Ghazzal and His Di

"Founders of the Future establishes Spain as a vital player in late nineteenth-century discussions of modernization, industrialization, and energy. With a background in engineering and a fine ear for language, Óscar Iván Useche looks beyond well-known works to show how metaphors in popular science writing shaped attitudes toward energy, industrial production, and Spain’s possibilities."

Laura Otis, author of Banned Emotions: How Metaphors Can Shape What People Feel

"Each chapter of this finely-crafted book paints a lucid picture of the productive incorporation of industrial language and imagery into the discursive fabric of fin-de-siglo Spanish society. Researchers, historians, and scholars from diverse disciplines and theoretical backgrounds will no doubt find Useche’s book a rich source for reflection."

Nicolás Fernández-Medina, author of Life Embodied: The Promise of Vital Force in Spanish Modernity

"Founders of the Future uncovers the new logic in Spain’s late nineteenth-century industrialization and modernization. It offers a unique perspective for mapping how different sectors of Spanish society viewed technological innovation, a 'social foundry' whence to forge regenerative approaches to Spain’s social, political, and economic problems."

Dale Pratt, author of Signs of Science: Literature, Science and Spanish Modernity Since 1868