Isambard Kingdom Brunel - Adrian Vaughan

Brunel very nearly amazed us all by being named outright winner on BBC TV's Greatest Britons, where he was presented by Jeremy Clarkson.

In this classic biography, Adrian Vaughan draws on evidence never used before to reveal not just an engineer of genius, a fountain of original ideas and nervous energy, a born actor and courageous leader, but also a man who was obstinate, unjust, dictatorial and in the end paranoid.

Outwardly indomitable, Brunel was driven by his 'blue devils': fears and insecurities he confided only to a journal he kept locked. His drive cost others dear: lives and fortunes were lost in the execution of his dramatic projects. He was an engineering knight-errant, not interested in mundane solutions but in daring experiments that would make him famous. Brunel's superbly engineered railways and bridges, and three great ships, serve as his monument. Much of his work is still in place, as serviceable as when it was first built. But he sold his soul to ambition, and like Faust he paid.