Walking in the footsteps of Samuel Smiles – who 'invented' and popularised the industrial biography – this profusely illustrated book will draw together many of the themes which I have been researching over the past few years into a collection of essays exploring the achievements of the greatest names in 18th, 19th and early 20th century British engineering history, and look at some of the themes which linked their achievements. From James Brindley's early canal-building through John Smeaton's Eddystone Lighthouse, James Watt's steam engine, James Nasmyth's steam hammer, Brunel's iron ships and Henry Bessemer's steel-making to William Arrol's bridges – taking in William Fairbairn, William Murdoch, Thomas Telford, William Jessop, John Rennie, John Scott Russell, The Lighthouse Stevensons, the Railway Stephensons, William Armstrong and others along the way – the book illustrates the rich legacy which all these innovators have left us. The 208-page soft cover book will be published in March 2024 by Whittles Publishing.