Brunel - An Engineering Biography

There are few more iconic figures in the history of British engineering than Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He towered over his contemporaries like a Colossus and in terms of the breadth of his activities - from the construction of the Great Western Railway to his three great ships and his bridges - he was the predominant figure for over to decades in the mid 19th century, prior to his premature death in 1859. However, Brunel was controversial in his time and the debate about his real abilities continues to the present. The year 2006 is the bicentenary of Brunel's birth and this new biography of the great man will be of interest to historians and transport enthusiasts of all persuasions. This provocative and entertaining book with its somewhat revisionist views of the Brunelian universe will cause much debate and discussion between those who both greatly admire him and those of a more sceptical disposition....