Lives of the Engineers: George and Robert Stephenson; The Locomotive

by Samuel Smiles

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Genres: History, Biography, Business, Science

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1862

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

[John Manley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book was written in 1879 it has a relatively modern style that makes for good reading. The transcription appears good, apart from the clumsy remnants of page numbers. This is a book I will retain for future reference.

I approached the read from a jaundiced view of Stephenson's achievements, a view caused by the oversimplification of history taught to children, see:

https://navsbooks.wordpress.com/2014/...

But finished the book with a more balanced view of the interplay between the various factors involved in early railway development. George Stephenson did not invent the Railway, but he did invent the Railway 'system' concept.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you're interested in biography, history, trains, or civil engineering, this will satisfy you. George's rise from unschooled engine stoker to a respected inventor and civil engineer is inspiring. The only quibble I have is the difficulty in picturing how long bridges and tunnels were when they're measured in yards. :)

[alibrivoxfan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a public domain audiobook version available here from LibriVox. It's ready by Andy Minter - one of Librivox's best!

[Kate]

Mentioned in A Shadow in the Garden: A Biographers’ Tale by James Atlas