The Lives Of George And Robert Stephenson. Introduction By Eric De Mare

by Samuel Smiles

George Stephenson did not invent the steam engine, that was due to Newcomen and later to James Watt. He did not invent the steam locomotive, that was due to a number of people including Cugnot, Trevithick and others. He did not invent the Railway. Railways or tramways had been in use for two hundred years before Stephenson.The reason why Stephenson was known as ‘The father of the steam locomotive’ was that he took a primitive, unreliable and wholly uneconomic device and turning it into an efficient machine not very different to those which ran until fifty or so years ago, married it with the iron rail and alone, and against considerable opposition,began, via the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and then the London and Birmingham Railway, the development of steam railways in England and the world.George Stephenson began life in 1781 in the worst and poorest of all circumstances, he did not learn to read until he was twenty years old, but he, together with his son Robert, became the foremost engineers in the railway world.If, in the middle years of the nineteenth century you wanted to build a railway, then, if you wanted it big bold and imaginative you might go to Mr. Brunel. If you wanted it to pay however, you would go to the Sephensons. (Summary by AJM)

Genres: History, Biography, Business, Science

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1862

About the author

Samuel Smiles (23 December 1812 – 16 April 1904), was a Scottish author and government reformer, who campaigned on a Chartist platform. But he concluded that more progress would come from new attitudes than from new laws. His masterpiece, Self-Help (1859), promoted thrift and claimed that poverty was caused largely by irresponsible habits, while also attacking materialism and laissez-faire government. It has been called "the bible of mid-Victorian liberalism", and it raised Smiles to celebrity status almost overnight.

Reviews

[John Manley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book was written in 1879 it has a relatively modern style that makes for good reading. The transcription appears good, apart from the clumsy remnants of page numbers. This is a book I will retain for future reference.

I approached the read from a jaundiced view of Stephenson's achievements, a view caused by the oversimplification of history taught to children, see:

https://navsbooks.wordpress.com/2014/...

But finished the book with a more balanced view of the interplay between the various factors involved in early railway development. George Stephenson did not invent the Railway, but he did invent the Railway 'system' concept.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you're interested in biography, history, trains, or civil engineering, this will satisfy you. George's rise from unschooled engine stoker to a respected inventor and civil engineer is inspiring. The only quibble I have is the difficulty in picturing how long bridges and tunnels were when they're measured in yards. :)

[alibrivoxfan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a public domain audiobook version available here from LibriVox. It's ready by Andy Minter - one of Librivox's best!

[Kate]

Mentioned in A Shadow in the Garden: A Biographers’ Tale by James Atlas