The Men Who Built Britain

Stories of the people of the Irish diaspora, who emigrated to Britain where they found employment constructing the roads, canals and railways.

"The contribution of the Irish 'Navvy' to the British construction industry has indeed been 'immeasurable'. For over two centuries, for hundreds of thousands of rural male Irish emigrants to Britain, the best chance of a start was in construction. While the men themselves have been largely forgotten or ignored, the canals, the railways, the roads, tunnels, dams and public utilities of Britain stand as lasting monuments to their sacrifices and achievements." "The Men who Built Britain has been researched by Ultan Cowley over a number of years. In it he quotes extensively from numerous interviews with Irish navvies and subcontractors, senior English management and relatives of those involved. Generously illustrated with striking pictures - many never previously published - this book ensures that the true story of the Irish navvy will not be forgotten."--BOOK JACKET.

A powerful account of how coerced migration built the British Empire In the early seventeenth century, Britain took ruthless steps to deal with its unwanted citizens, forcibly removing men, women, and children from their homelands and sending them to far-flung corners of the empire to be sold off to colonial masters. This oppressive regime grew into a brutal system of human bondage which would continue into the twentieth century. Drawing on firsthand accounts, letters, and official documents, Graham Seal uncovers the traumatic struggles of those shipped around the empire. He shows how the earliest large-scale kidnapping and transportation of children to the American colonies were quickly bolstered with shipments of the poor, criminal, and rebellious to different continents, including Australia. From Asia to Africa, this global trade in forced labor allowed Britain to build its colonies while turning a considerable profit. Incisive and moving, this account brings to light the true extent of a cruel strand in the history of the British Empire.

At the heart of his story lies the Balloon Factory, a cathedral-sized shed overlooking Farnborough Common, and its most celebrated occupant, the remarkable long-haired gun-toting ex-cowboy, Sam Cody. Frater, in a work that is part history, part travelogue, goes in search of some of the most extraordinary pioneers, including Sam Cody, John William Dunne, Sir George Cayley and Geoffrey De Havilland. His richly described and wonderfully anecdotal journey brings those magnificent men, the rock stars of their time, and the places they knew vibrantly to life. ‘Frater’s book is a treasure chest of facts wrapped in anecdotes . . . The Balloon Factory should be purchased in bulk by BA and substituted for the glossy in-flight magazine’ Literary Review ‘The Balloon Factory is the rarest of things – a thorough overview of a subject that manages to remain enjoyable and entertaining throughout.’ BBC Focus magazine ‘Alexander Frater is a renowned travel writer with an infectious interest in early aviation, a strong practical grasp of aeronautics and a gift for lyrical description . . .’ Sunday Telegraph ‘This is a beautifully written, amusing and educational tome . . . The author succeeds in really bringing the characters and events to life by visiting scenes of British aviation history, creating a real feeling for the people behind the events and doing it all in a way that you don’t need an anorak and binoculars to appreciate.’ Flyer magazine ‘One of my favourite non-fiction books of the year . . . ’ Ham & High and the Wood & Vale

Annotation This volume reconstructs the lives of Henry VII's new men - low-born ministers with legal, financial, political, and military skills who enforced the king's will as he sought to strengthen government after the Wars of the Roses, examining how they exercised power, gained wealth, and spent it to sustain their new-found status.

A celebration of the life and engineering achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel by two of the world's foremost authorities. In his lifetime, Isambard Kingdom Brunel towered over his profession. Today, he remains the most famous engineer in history, the epitome of the volcanic creative forces which brought about the Industrial Revolution - and brought modern society into being. Brunel's extraordinary talents were drawn out by some remarkable opportunities - above all his appointment as engineer to the new Great Western Railway at the age of 26 - but it was his nature to take nothing for granted, and to look at every project, whether it was the longest railway yet planned, or the largest ship ever imagined, from first principles. A hard taskmaster to those who served him, he ultimately sacrificed his own life to his work in his tragically early death at the age of 53. His legacy, though, is all around us, in the railways and bridges that he personally designed, and in his wider influence. This fascinating new book draws on Brunel's own diaries, letters and sketchbooks to understand his life, times, and work.