Engines and Enterprises: The Life and Work of Sir Harry Ricardo

Rating:
Summary: Technology made personable
Review: At first glance this might seem a technical treatise - and in fact those who study internal combustion engines will find sufficient detail to fascinate them. It is, however, a biography which covers the technical, business and personal life of a man whose contributions to transportation technology are far more widespread than his fame. The descendant of families accomplished in architecture and the arts, Ricardo was Cambridge educated at a time when most engineers in Britain learned from apprenticeship. His career spanned nearly seven decades, and his technological innovations found their way into motorcars, trucks, railroad engines and aircraft. John Reynolds pens a good read, and it will appeal to all with an interest in transportation history.

Rating:
Summary: Technology made personable
Review: At first glance this might seem a technical treatise - and in fact those who study internal combustion engines will find sufficient detail to fascinate them. It is, however, a biography which covers the technical, business and personal life of a man whose contributions to transportation technology are far more widespread than his fame. The descendant of families accomplished in architecture and the arts, Ricardo was Cambridge educated at a time when most engineers in Britain learned from apprenticeship. His career spanned nearly seven decades, and his technological innovations found their way into motorcars, trucks, railroad engines and aircraft. John Reynolds pens a good read, and it will appeal to all with an interest in transportation history.