Battle For The North by Charles Mckean
The first Tay Bridge collapsed into the sea in 1879, only eighteen months after it had opened, drowning seventy-two people travelling by train to Dundee. Shock reverberated through Britain, and the public demanded answers. The bridge had been hailed as a triumph of construction, and its fall shook society's confidence in the excellence of Victorian engineering. This epic tale of engineering follows the rise and fall of the career of engineer Thomas Bouch, ostracized from the engineering community when his bridge crashed into the Tay estuary. Charles McKean offers new conclusions about why the first Tay Bridge collapsed and tells how the Forth and Tay Bridges eventually became reality. He follows the railway battle for Scotland from 1845-95 and the people it involved: from the Victorian entrepreneurs, poets, journalists, lawyers and town councils, and the engineers, briggers, excavators and rivet boys, to the pioneering and inventive contractor William Arrol, who constructed the bridges that stand today. Meticulously researched and vividly told, Battle for the North explores the complicated reality underlying the Victorian pursuit of progress.
The triumphs and disasters of a thrilling piece of engineering history * Sunday Telegraph *
Charles McKean's account of the lobbying, wrangling and financial crisis during the construction is as compelling as his account of the courtroom drama.. gripping ... a vivid account * The Times *
At the core of McKean's book is how Scotland's railway network developed. It is complex and compelling, a triumph of pragmatism, technological innovation and sheer bloody-mindedness over what might have been deemed best for the common good * Sunday Herald *
A thought-provoking account ... I read this in one sitting * Guardian *
Charles McKean's account of the lobbying, wrangling and financial crisis during the construction is as compelling as his account of the courtroom drama.. gripping ... a vivid account * The Times *
At the core of McKean's book is how Scotland's railway network developed. It is complex and compelling, a triumph of pragmatism, technological innovation and sheer bloody-mindedness over what might have been deemed best for the common good * Sunday Herald *
A thought-provoking account ... I read this in one sitting * Guardian *
Charles McKean is Professor of Architectural History at Dundee university. He lives in Edinburgh.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781862079403 |
| ISBN 10 | 1862079404 |
| Title | Battle For The North |
| Author | Charles Mckean |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Granta Books |
| Year published | 2007-08-06 |
| Number of pages | 368 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |