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.
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.
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.
During the nineteenth century, the roughest but most important ocean passage in the world lay between Britain and the United States. Bridging the Atlantic Ocean by steamship was a defining, remarkable feat of the era. Over time, Atlantic steamships became the largest, most complex machines yet devised. They created a new transatlantic world of commerce and travel, reconciling former Anglo-American enemies and bringing millions of emigrants who transformed the United States. In Transatlantic, the experience of crossing the Atlantic is re-created in stunning detail from the varied perspectives of first class, steerage, officers, and crew. The dynamic evolution of the Atlantic steamer is traced from Brunel's Great Western of 1838 to Cunard's Mauretania of 1907, the greatest steamship ever built.
Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel. One of the most famous engineers the United Kingdom has ever produced. A man who put his stamp on his own country in the most visible way possible; through the construction of bridges and tunnels that stand to this day and by transforming both the landscape and the nature of society.In 2002, Brunel was voted the second Greatest Briton of all time in a BBC survey, second only to Winston Churchill and putting names such as Darwin, Shakespeare, and Newton behind him. In 2006, numerous events were held across the United Kingdom in celebration of Brunel's 200th birthday. There are few engineers with such a long-lasting and widespread legacy. Inside you will read about... ✓ The Foundations ✓ Brunel and Son ✓ The Great Western Railway ✓ Brunel the Shipbuilder ✓ Bridge over the River Tamar And much more!This book will tell the story of the man known affectionately as "the Little Giant," through telling the story of the incredible achievements that made him a household name in his own lifetime and to the present day.
From tunnels and railways to bridges and ships, Isambard Kingdom Brunel would stop at nothing to realise his amazing engineering ideas. Born at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Brunel had a brilliant brain for design, and never tired of building new and exciting things - the deepest tunnel, the longest bridge, the fastest train. For Brunel, the average and the ordinary were just not good enough. A perfectionist and a control freak, he would stop at nothing to complete a project, even when it meant taking hair-raising risks. Part of The Great Victorians- a newly designed series of entertaining and engaging biographies for children.
__________ 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.
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.
