How Britain Worked
Published on 27. September 2012
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-7535-4084-8 (ISBN)
Description
It is a largely forgotten fact that Britain was the first industrialized country in the world, but Guy Martin - the cult motorcycle racer and mechanic - is about to remind us how the industrial revolution helped make Britain great.
Guy shows how the discoveries made in the late 18th-19th centuries are to thank for the ease of our every day lives: in order to cook a bacon and egg sandwich in Industrial-era conditions, Guy has to restore a steam locomotive and railway to have the components delivered to the local shop; he has to bring a saw mill back into working order to be able to make a bicycle; he has to revamp a Victorian fishing trawler so he can cook himself some fish and chips, and when he decides to mow the lawn, he restores a Victorian botanical garden. After all that, he's in need of a holiday - so he sets to work restoring a Victorian holiday resort.
Illustrated throughout with specially commissioned photography as well as historical images, Guy will take us through each project; his passion, enthusiasm and sheer inventiveness bringing a completely new perspective to the Industrial Revolution. He invites us to live it with him, to enjoy the nostalgia, marvel in the mechanics and learn from its legacy.
Guy shows how the discoveries made in the late 18th-19th centuries are to thank for the ease of our every day lives: in order to cook a bacon and egg sandwich in Industrial-era conditions, Guy has to restore a steam locomotive and railway to have the components delivered to the local shop; he has to bring a saw mill back into working order to be able to make a bicycle; he has to revamp a Victorian fishing trawler so he can cook himself some fish and chips, and when he decides to mow the lawn, he restores a Victorian botanical garden. After all that, he's in need of a holiday - so he sets to work restoring a Victorian holiday resort.
Illustrated throughout with specially commissioned photography as well as historical images, Guy will take us through each project; his passion, enthusiasm and sheer inventiveness bringing a completely new perspective to the Industrial Revolution. He invites us to live it with him, to enjoy the nostalgia, marvel in the mechanics and learn from its legacy.
Reviews / Votes
"Channel 4, and a star was born this week, in the shape of Guy Martin, presenter of How Britain Worked" -- Caitlin Moran * The Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Ebury Publishing
Dimensions
Height: 253 mm
Width: 200 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
1033 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7535-4084-8 (9780753540848)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Guy Martin is a British motorcycle racer and mechanic. Born in 1981, he followed in his father's foosteps by racing bikes, and in 2011 starred in the cult documentary Closer to the Edge about the 2010 TT Races in the Isle of Man. Passionate about maintaining the legacy of the Industrial Revolution's hard grafters, he has previously made a documentary for the BBC, called The Boat that Guy Built, in which he travelled along Britain's canal networks using inventions of the Industrial era.