James Nasmyth invented the steam hammer that could forge a battleship shaft or crack an egg, and his Autobiography (edited by Samuel Smiles) is among engineering’s best memoirs: the artist’s son learning craft at his father’s lathe, Maudslay’s workshop, the Bridgewater Foundry, and retirement spent mapping the Moon.
Few great engineers wrote this well about the work of the hands. Download the free EPUB.