Barnes & Noble Digital Library

British engineers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries constructed awe-inspiring public works, many used and appreciated to this day as much for the elegance of their design as for their function. Here, Samuel Smiles lauds the men—such as John Metcalf, Telford, and George Stephens—behind these feats of infrastructure: roads, bridges, canals, and lighthouses. This book is a celebration of the triumph of their ingenuity, tenacity, and fortitude.