Thomas Telford

by Samuel Smiles

The life and works of civil engineer Thomas Telford. With an introductory history of roads and travelling in Great Britian. Originally published in 1867.

Genres: History

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1867

About the author

Samuel Smiles (23 December 1812 – 16 April 1904), was a Scottish author and government reformer, who campaigned on a Chartist platform. But he concluded that more progress would come from new attitudes than from new laws. His masterpiece, Self-Help (1859), promoted thrift and claimed that poverty was caused largely by irresponsible habits, while also attacking materialism and laissez-faire government. It has been called "the bible of mid-Victorian liberalism", and it raised Smiles to celebrity status almost overnight.

Reviews

[Finn Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well written insight into one of the founding fathers of civil engineering, with an interesting overview of the history of roads in Great Britain.

Thomas Telford, what a guy! Stonemason, surveyor, bridge engineer, road-man, poet, socialist, philanthropist, and best yet, a Doonhamer! Ticks every box in my eyes.

The book itself is very informative and details the story of Thomas Telford, from his humble beginnings in a small farm house in Eskdale, where he was known locally as "laughing Tam", to his status as pioneer and juggernaut of civil engineering, as the founder and first president of The Institute of Civil Engineers.

I would recommend this book to anyone in the civil engineering / construction industry, as the chapters on Telford's most challenging projects (including the Menai bridge, the Caledonian Canal and St Katherine's Docks) are interesting and genuinely inspiring. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone without some interest in the civil engineering industry, but that might be obvious.