Brunel, The Man Who Built The World: A Penny Dreadful Review
As I
traveled by train the other day, I perused the biography of a man known for his
bridges and railroads. He’s honored by monuments across England, and many of
his viaducts and bridges still stand. He designed several of the routes that
trains still travel, elegant stations that are still in use. Responsible for
countless inventions and innovations, Isambard Kingdom Brunel truly built the
world. Or at least, he shaped modern Britain.
The book is
Brunel: The Man Who Built The World.
The author is Steven Brindle. The prose is accessible and fascinating. The man
was a genius and a workaholic.
Steven
Brindle’s work is organized by accomplishment category (trains, bridges, ships,
and so on) rather than strictly chronological. Indeed, as Brunel worked on
several projects at once, it would be easy for the reader to lose track of them
all if they were presented in such an order. I did not understand some of the
technical aspects of bridge-making, but Mr. Brindle explained it as plainly as
possible. A more mathematically-minded reader would doubtless understand
everything.
Isambard
Kingdom Brunel shaped the Victorian world. He created much of the landscape
Steampunk inhabits. Surely investigating such a figure is a worthwhile pursuit,
and Brunel: The Man Who Built The World
is a worthwhile book. I highly recommend this quick biography and award it four
gears out of five.
Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather
