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What the Victorians Got Wrong.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Berkshire : Countryside Books, 2013Copyright date: ©2008Description: 1 online resource (96 pages)Content type:
  • text
Media type:
  • computer
Carrier type:
  • online resource
ISBN:
  • 9781846748714
Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Print version:: What the Victorians Got WrongDDC classification:
  • 363.349
LOC classification:
  • TA656.Y67 2010eb
Online resources:
Contents:
Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: Holding Back Nature - The Dale Dyke disaster -- Chapter 2: In Iron We Trust - The Tay Bridge disaster -- Chapter 3: Hanging By A Wire - Suspension bridge disasters -- Chapter 4: If Only We Had Thought Of That! - Railways: the birthplace of operational errors -- Chapter 5: The Never-Ending Sorrow - Fuel for the nation - but at a terrible price -- Chapter 6: Medical Mistakes - How the imagination made up for a lack of knowledge -- Chapter 7: Plumbing - A world of trial and error -- Chapter 8: The Friend That Goes Bang! - Gas - treat with care -- Chapter 9: It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time - Even Brunel could get it wrong -- Chapter 10: Danger At Play - Leisure-time disasters -- Conclusion -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W.
Summary: The nineteenth century was an era of scientific advance like no other in history. Railways were built, bridges constructed, rivers tamed and electricity harnessed, to the great benefit of all. But progress was only achieved at high cost. Impatience for achievement too often resulted in catastrophe and disaster. These accounts of how the Victorians stumbled into appalling errors of judgement offer a sobering counter balance to the often related tales of glorious successes.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Ebrary Online Books Ebrary Online Books Colombo Available CBERA000166
Ebrary Online Books Ebrary Online Books Jaffna Available JFEBRA000166
Ebrary Online Books Ebrary Online Books Kandy Available KDEBRA000166
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Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The nineteenth century was an era of scientific advance like no other in history. And no nation gained more from its forward momentum than Britain and her Empire. Railways were built, bridges constructed, rivers tamed and electricity harnessed, to the great benefit of all But progress was only achieved at high cost. Impatience for achievement too often resulted in catastrophe and disaster. In 1879, the Tay Bridge was the longest in the world and a wonder of its age. But on a stormy night in December, disaster struck when the central section of the bridge collapsed and the 7:13 pm train from Edinburgh plunged into the icy waters of the Tay, taking the lives of 75 passengers and crew. One of the worst man-made catastrophes in Victorian Britain was caused when the wall of the Dale Dyke dam at Bradfield in South Yorkshire was breached in March 1864. This released 650 million gallons of water that poured down towards Sheffield at a mile a minute in a 9ft wall of liquid which demolished houses, factories and bridges and claimed the lives of 240 people. The accounts of how the Victorians could and did stumble into appalling errors of judgement offer a sobering counter balance to the often related tales of glorious successes.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: Holding Back Nature - The Dale Dyke disaster -- Chapter 2: In Iron We Trust - The Tay Bridge disaster -- Chapter 3: Hanging By A Wire - Suspension bridge disasters -- Chapter 4: If Only We Had Thought Of That! - Railways: the birthplace of operational errors -- Chapter 5: The Never-Ending Sorrow - Fuel for the nation - but at a terrible price -- Chapter 6: Medical Mistakes - How the imagination made up for a lack of knowledge -- Chapter 7: Plumbing - A world of trial and error -- Chapter 8: The Friend That Goes Bang! - Gas - treat with care -- Chapter 9: It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time - Even Brunel could get it wrong -- Chapter 10: Danger At Play - Leisure-time disasters -- Conclusion -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W.

The nineteenth century was an era of scientific advance like no other in history. Railways were built, bridges constructed, rivers tamed and electricity harnessed, to the great benefit of all. But progress was only achieved at high cost. Impatience for achievement too often resulted in catastrophe and disaster. These accounts of how the Victorians stumbled into appalling errors of judgement offer a sobering counter balance to the often related tales of glorious successes.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.

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