An enthralling account
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This is a very engaging read - Rolt's enthusiasm for his subject shines out. This is a full account of Brunel's life and work, with interesting (but not unduly technical) detail on the engineering side. Rolt has been accused of painting too rosy a picture of Brunel - you can read other biographies if you are concerned about that - but you cannot beat this one for inspiration!
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Genius Engineer
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Isambard Brunel was an engineering genius, a technical innovative icon out of the top drawer and one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution. His imagination, innovation and sheer manic drive saw Brunel overcome the engineering problems of the day with radical new designs and concepts in regard to the design and construction of ships, railways, bridges and tunnels. He simply changed the face of the English landscape and maritime travel with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions....a man whose engineering masterpieces were years ahead of his time.
L. T. C. Rolt's masterly, authoritative and descriptive biography is the definitive work on Brunel, tracing the life, times and monumental achievements of the man who helped to build modern Britain. He portrays a genius of a man who eventually worked himself to death....fascinating reading on the era where we moved from the horse to the train and from sail to steam sea travel...an excellent read!
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Genius
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A real genius.
Buy it and enjoy it. Then ask yourself where are today's genius gone?
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Thorough, entertaining and fascinating
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Biographies of engineers can fall into a stereotypical format. A chapter on their childhood and education, then a series of chapters discussing their main works. Personal insight is usually minimal.
Rolt's biography of Brunel is light-years away from this - it is first and foremost a portrait of a complex, ambitious and determined genius, with his engineering placed in a personal, social and historical context. The chequered career of his father and his family background serve to place Isambard in context, too.
Sure, if you want to know how much per foot the rails on the GWR weighed, it's here, but you'll also find fascinating fragments of Brunel's diaries and letters, descriptions of London society in the early nineteenth century, and the remarks of many of those whose paths Brunel crossed during his life.
Brunel's own words are as vigorous and fascinating as those Rolt uses; this is a lively, fast-paced book covering all aspects of a very full life full of innovation.
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Comprehensive history of Brunel's life and work.
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Takes the reader through the story of Brunel's origins and the development of his amazing engineering achievements. A hero to be looked up to.
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