Voyaging the World's Civil Engineering Wonders
John Laverick is clearly passionate about waterborne transport and how civil engineering supports and enables that passage. This beautifully illustrated book consists of a series of case studies derived from lectures that he himself delivered to captive audiences while journeying around the world on luxury vessels and enjoying these civil engineering wonders.
It contains a detailed account of the construction of the Panama Canal and its subsequent expansion, including the origin and history of the project and its operation. It has several sections on the restoration and development of both British and international canals and waterways, including the Suez, the Kiel, the Kennet and Avon and the Norfolk Broads. There are also fascinating articles on maritime defences from WW2's Mulberry Harbour to present-day naval bases and their floating concrete facilities. The chapter ‘The seven wonders of Britain's inland waterways’ is a window to the Industrial Revolution and the amazing civil engineering that was underpinning this period in our history.
The author's working career was spent in maritime and fluvial civil engineering, overlapped by a voluntary career in river management and canal restoration and management. He has produced a diverse and thoroughly interesting book, which allows the reader to get a firm understanding of the essence of civil engineering, its brilliance as a career and its many faces.
