Engineering genius, technical innovator and one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions. L. T. C. Rolt's masterly biography is the definitive work on Brunel, tracing the life, times and monumental achivements of the man who helped to build modern Britain.
Originally published in 1976, this book by a group of engineers, each distinguished for work in their field, describes the achievements of I. K. Brunel, the giant among nineteenth-century engineers, whose works include the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and three famous ships, Great Western, Great Britain and Great Eastern.
A celebration of the life and engineering achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel by two of the world's foremost authorities. In his lifetime, Isambard Kingdom Brunel towered over his profession. Today, he remains the most famous engineer in history, the epitome of the volcanic creative forces which brought about the Industrial Revolution - and brought modern society into being. Brunel's extraordinary talents were drawn out by some remarkable opportunities - above all his appointment as engineer to the new Great Western Railway at the age of 26 - but it was his nature to take nothing for granted, and to look at every project, whether it was the longest railway yet planned, or the largest ship ever imagined, from first principles. A hard taskmaster to those who served him, he ultimately sacrificed his own life to his work in his tragically early death at the age of 53. His legacy, though, is all around us, in the railways and bridges that he personally designed, and in his wider influence. This fascinating new book draws on Brunel's own diaries, letters and sketchbooks to understand his life, times, and work.
Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-1849) nourished an extraordinary intellect, in spite of a tyrannical father. After serving in Louis XVI's navy as an officer cadet, he left France and, at the age of 30, came to Britain via America; 50 years later he died here. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) nourished an equally extraordinary intellect. On leaving his native island of Corsica he went to France, where he became First Consul aged 30 and waged war against Britain. He died in St. Helena 22 years later. This revised biography of Marc Brunel reveals, for the first time, how both these temperamentally opposed men labored, unceasingly and with great courage, on behalf of their adopted countries, and how much Marc Brunel contributed to Napoleon's ultimate defeat. Marc Brunel was a man without malice. In addition to being an inventor, artist, and musician, he was the 19th century's most innovative engineer. Until recently, however, he has been acknowledged less for his achievements than for fathering his brilliant and indefatigable son Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59). Until the age of 56, Marc Brunel was primarily an inventor, but Isambard took his father's and others' inventions when they were barely visible seeds and turned them into highly visible fruits in the shape of steam ships and railways. Marc Brunel worked in a relatively literate age and his frequently forthright comments were eagerly sought by reporters of many newly established daily papers. He never became a "celebrity." This authoritative work must represent the definitive exploration of this remarkable man's life and brings his considerable achievements into focus for the modern historian. Entertaining yet highly informative, and enhanced by a selection of beautifully produced illustrations, it will be widely welcomed.
"My favorite read of the year..."—Keegan-Michael Key, Top Ten Picks, New York Times A dazzling, inventive literary adventure story in which Captain Ahab confronts Captain Nemo and the dark cultural stories represented by both characters are revealed in cliffhanger fashion. A sprawling adventure pitting two of literature's most iconic anti-heroes against each other: Captain Nemo and Captain Ahab. Caught between them: real-life British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, builder of the century's greatest ship, The Great Eastern. But when he's kidnapped by Nemo to help design a submarine with which to fight the laying of the Translatlantic cable - linking the two colonialist forces Nemo hates, England and the US - Brunel finds himself going up against his own ship, and the strange man hired to protect it, Captain Ahab, in a battle for the soul of the 19th century.
Brunel very nearly amazed us all by being named outright winner on BBC television's Greatest Britons, where he was presented by Jeremy Clarkson. In this biography, Adrian Vaughan draws on a range of evidence to reveal not just an engineer of genius, a fountain of original ideas and nervous energy, a born actor and courageous leader, but also a man who was obstinate, unjust, dictatorial and in the end paranoid. insecurities he confided only to a journal he kept locked. His drive cost others dear: lives and fortunes were lost in the execution of his dramatic projects. He was an engineering knight-errant, not interested in mundane solutions but in daring experiments that would make him famous. Brunel's superbly engineered railways and bridges, and three great ships, serve as his monument. Much of his work is still in place, as serviceable as when it was first built. But he sold his soul to ambition, and like Faust he paid.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel created a number of quite revolutionary steamships - the Great Western which was the first practical transatlantic paddle-steamer; the Great Britain, the first iron-built screw-driven liner; and the monster Great Eastern which remained the largest ship in the world for almost half a century. Besides these well-known wonders of the maritime world, Brunel also worked with the Admiralty on the introduction of the screw propeller into naval service.
__________ Available now: the biggest and best quiz book about the deep blue! __________ Think you know the difference between a ship and a boat? Do you really understand the shipping forecast? And what do all the different flags at sea mean? The Nautical Puzzle Book is packed to the brim with over 100 puzzles inspired by the National Maritime Museum's objects and their stories. Inside this book you'll find a fiendish mix of word games, codewords, trivia, picture puzzles, word scrambles, anagrams, crosswords and much more. It's a chance to learn all about epic explorers, history makers, record breakers, myths, legends, seafaring traditions and life at sea. By the time you reach the end you'll have navigated centuries of history, crossed thousands of miles of ocean, and made countless discoveries - so batten down the hatches and set sail! __________ The perfect gift for veteran seafarers and armchair navigators alike. Find out if you're worthy of captaincy or destined to be a deck hand in this beautiful and addictive puzzle book! If you're bored of Zoom Quizzes, then this is the book for all the family.
