Described in the blurb as 'a vivid love-letter to quiet men in pullovers', this is a fascinating account of those ingenious engineers who invented the technologies of the future, often on a shoestring budget. It opens with the arrival of the first V2 noted by the British Interplanetary Society in a London pub, and we soon read of a surreal meeting between Arthur C Clark, the famous science-fiction writer, and C S Lewis. We learn how Britain cancelled its space program and how Ernest Benn was a good friend to Concorde. The story covers other technologies such as computer games, mobile telephones and mind-boggling efforts with the human genome. It makes for compulsive reading and is the sort of book only British endeavours could produce. It deserves to sell and sell.
Who said the Industrial Revolution ended in the 19th century? British engineers and technicians are still blazing trails in every field from the human genome to space travel, and this book doffs its hat to all the individuals involved. Along the way it also takes an affectionate look at Concorde and talks of what might have been. Spufford's mission has been to tell the story of the most remarkable innovations of the last century and to show them in the context of British endeavour. This is no dry-as-dust study or descent into geekery, however - Spufford brings an excitement to his writing and enthuses his readers with wonder for the achievements that are still happening each day. His use of language is especially potent, being both evocative and colourful without getting into the range of hyperbole. If you are interested in any form of technology (and its proponents) from computer games to Martian expeditions, this is the book for you. (Kirkus UK)
Product Description
Britain is the only country in the world to have cancelled its space programme just as it put its first rocket into orbit. Starting with this forgotten episode, this text tells the bitter-sweet story of how one country lost its industrial tradition and got something back. Sad, inspiring, funny and ultimately triumphant, it follows the technologists whose work kept Concorde flying, created the computer game, conquered the mobile-phone business, saved the human genome for the human race and who are now sending the Beagle 2 probe to burrow the cinnamon sands of Mars.
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