Monturiol's dream - Matthew Stewart

Set in mid-19th century Barcelona, this is the remarkable story of an unlikely genius who went on to change the course of science and the development of an entire culture. Monturiol's Dream weaves together several narratives to provide a compelling chapter in a secret history of the world's transition to modernity. It revolves around the strange and noble life of Narcis Monturiol, a utopian social revolutionary, political misfit and self-taught engineer who, improbably, invented the world's first fully operational submarine in Barcelona during the mid-19th century. His feat of visionary engineering was to Barcelona what the lunar landings would be to America in the 20th century. But Monturiol's utopian ideals would also be applied to the redesign of the city of Barcelona and ultimately contributing to the modern discipline of urban planning. Others inspired by Monturiol would contribute to the music, literature, art and architecture that spawned the celebrated rebirth of Catalan culture around the turn of the 20th century. This elegantly written and extensively illustrated book contains the story of an extraordinary individual and his pioneering technical achievement. But the story of Monturiol is also the story of a unique city and its remarkable transformation.