For a shorter read I recommend The Medieval Machine by Jean Gimpel. It's a bit old now but tells an interesting story, turns out there was a lot more industrial machinery in the 13th century than we tend to think.

Definitely not the shortest read, my suggestion. Though it turns up on LibGen.

James Burke's Connections traces much of this historry, as does Vaclav Smil's Energy and Civilization.

The Singer ref should reward multiple interests, and can be dipped into at leisure.