The Lighthouse Stevensons (Thorndike Nonfiction) |
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Bella Bathurst
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Pages: 433 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 078388964X
Pub: Thorndike Press
Pub date: 2000-03
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2810300
Reader Reviews:
Worth persevering (7/7 people found this helpful)
Budding authors are told to grip their readers' attention early. If I have one fault with Bella Bathurst's Lighthouse Stevensons it is that it gets off to a slow start.
But do persevere. Once it gets going this is an epic tale of man's triumph over the elements. The difficulties in building lighthouses on isolated outcrops, exposed to the elements at their most challenging, are vividly brought to life and the absolute confidence of the engineers of the period is astonishing. Technical isues are explained in layman's terms but with no sense of dumbing down.
The book also succeeds on other levels. It is an absorbing real-life family saga and a fascinating portrait of Scottish 19th century life.
An ideal mixture of information and entertainment.
A vivid and entertaining account of an unusual subject (12/12 people found this helpful)
It is well-known that Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island, Kidnapped and other children's classics. Few will know the details of his family background and yet in their own way a the "Lighthouse Stevensons" were also remarkable men.
Against great odds these men designed and arranged for the building of the network of lighthouses around the dangerous and inhospitable Scottish coast.
They were typical of the Victorian age-when no obstacle seemed too great to overcome, despite the limited technology available at the time.
The book is full of interesting facts and anecdotes. For example, we are told about the "wreckers"-islanders who gained from shipwrecks and were opposed to the erecting of lighthouses.
The characters are well drawn and the style of writing is very reader-friendly. It is a good read for both the general reader and for anyone with an interest the Victorian age, in heroic feats of engineering and/or in the writer, Robert Louis Stevenson.
One of the most informative books written (4/5 people found this helpful)
Bella, brings to life the era of industrial revolution, the progress of enginering as a science, and the tenacity of the Stevenson family. Quite simply a wonderful book.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> Historical
Books -> Subjects -> Reference -> Transport -> General AAS
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Hardcover
Books -> Refinements -> Condition (condition-type)