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Isambard Kingdom Brunel: The Life of an Engineering Genius,Reprint edition
In his time Isambard Kingdom Brunel was the world's greatest engineer. His list of achievements is truly breathtaking: the Thames Tunnel, the first underwater tunnel in the world; the SS Great Britain, the first propeller-driven ship; the Clifton Suspension Bridge, then the longest span of any bridge in the world; and the Great Western Railway. History has been kind to his memory: many of his creations still exist and he is lauded by historians as a truly 'Great Briton'.In this full-scale biography Colin Maggs presents a portrait of a complex, ambitious and determined genius. But the Brunel that emerges is not without flaws. He made mistakes, both personal and technical – he wasn't always right but never admitted he was wrong. Drawing on Brunel's diaries, letters and business papers, we see the real Isambard, a more human figure, emerging from behind the towering structures and machines he created.
336 pages, Paperback
First published June 19, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
January 25, 2024
This book won't appeal to everyone. It may help to be a little obsessive.
If you are borderline, I'd suggest you overcome your resistance so that you can learn what one man was capable of, as a human. Leave aside his engineering genius. His capacity for work left me breathless.
The book CRAMMED with (to-me-) fascinating detail.
And it organises the detail splendidly so that it isn't just a heap of bits and pieces.
Brunel...
Read...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isambar...
... if you don't already see him as a remarkable man, one of those who made the Industrial Revolution happen.
The book covers at least three things...
The Man
The Things He Built
The Trials and Tribulations along the way
... and many other things emerge, too... not least details of how big projects got done in those days, and, as I said, Brunel's incredible capacity for work. Effective work.
Apparently, he was even fun to be around, in spite of how hard he drove himself and those working for him.
It is also a source of musings about how far we've come in matters of health and safety and a balance between employer and employee duty, rights, and power.
If you are borderline, I'd suggest you overcome your resistance so that you can learn what one man was capable of, as a human. Leave aside his engineering genius. His capacity for work left me breathless.
The book CRAMMED with (to-me-) fascinating detail.
And it organises the detail splendidly so that it isn't just a heap of bits and pieces.
Brunel...
Read...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isambar...
... if you don't already see him as a remarkable man, one of those who made the Industrial Revolution happen.
The book covers at least three things...
The Man
The Things He Built
The Trials and Tribulations along the way
... and many other things emerge, too... not least details of how big projects got done in those days, and, as I said, Brunel's incredible capacity for work. Effective work.
Apparently, he was even fun to be around, in spite of how hard he drove himself and those working for him.
It is also a source of musings about how far we've come in matters of health and safety and a balance between employer and employee duty, rights, and power.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review