TY - BOOK AU - Smiles,Samuel TI - The Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer: With an Introductory History of Roads and Travelling in Great Britain AV - TA PY - 1997/// CY - Salt Lake City, UT PB - Project Gutenberg KW - Telford, Thomas, 1757-1834 KW - Roads -- Great Britain KW - Civil engineers -- Great Britain -- Biography N1 - Release date is 1997-06-01; This etext produced by Eric Hutton; additional proof reading by David G Haren and Simon Allen; Original publication data not identified N2 - "The Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer" by Samuel Smiles is a historical account written in the late 19th century. The book provides a detailed look at the life and achievements of Thomas Telford, a prominent civil engineer known for his significant contributions to the improvement of infrastructure in Britain, particularly roads and bridges. The narrative likely explores his early years, career beginnings, and the impact he had on the development of civil engineering in the context of the historical state of roads and transportation in the UK. At the start of the work, Smiles sets the stage for Telford's story by discussing the important role of roads as agents of civilization, highlighting their influence on commerce and communication. The opening chapters provide a historical overview of early roads, discussing the conditions and modes of travel in England before Telford's time. It describes the difficulties faced by travelers due to poorly maintained roads and introduces Telford's upbringing and early experiences as a stonemason. This context sets up the reader to appreciate Telford's later innovations and contributions to engineering, emphasizing the transformative effects of improved infrastructure on society. (This is an automatically generated summary.) UR - https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/939 ER -