This book is a magnificent example of a thorough description in a condensed space of the whole history of design and construction.
It is awkward to describe as condensed a book that extends to 640 pages, but the extent of the themes that are described is so vast that it necessarily has to be condensed in each part. In fact, the work dedicated to extract just the relevant aspects of the history of design and construction is immense. The text principally focuses on the part of history from 1700 and on Western culture.
It is easy to read the book from the beginning and just follow its natural description, but it is also very rewarding just to hop from chapter to chapter and delve more deeply into each aspect around the development of construction.
The chronological tables at the beginning of each chapter help the reader to focus on the people and the society of each period and make it easy to relate specific historical aspects to the technological developments for both design and construction.
It is a real pleasure to find in a single place the developments and achievements for each period as they relate to scientific advances, the design methods and tools for calculation on one side and materials and construction on the other.
The figures and the drawings are clear and explanatory and are well worked out to help the reader understand the flow of the forces and the reasons for design and construction.
Readers of this wonderful and accessible book will find new aspects that were previously unknown but will surely also find some aspects missing because of his or her background. Among other aspects, I would recommend acknowledgement of the relevance that pre-stressing has achieved for building construction in the twentieth century, being the most relevant invention for modern construction. Particularly interesting are the chapters when engineering becomes a profession and the relationship between theory and practice.
The afterword is a declaration of intentions and a deep reflection on the reasons for actual and future buildings. It is, from the reviewer’s point of view, a relevant part of the book. Just as attractive is Annex 1 with the text by Ove Arup, ‘Aims and Means’, expressing the motives of a design community.
In the bibliography and further reading sections, there is a systematic compilation of documents that will help the reader to expand their knowledge on each aspect and each particular chapter.
I would like to encourage the author of this magnificent book to consider writing an additional book (or books) that would deal with hydraulic design, taking into account dams, canals and mill construction on one hand and bridges and other special structures on the other.
