During the 19th century, the engineering of ports and harbours became a large and specialised branch of the profession. This development began in ports in physically difficult locations and may be particularly identified with the growth of the Port of Liverpool. Stimulated by the arrival of ever-larger steamships and the heavy investment in port facilities that they demanded, it spread around much of the world. The opening papers give examples of what could be achieved in antiquity; the following ones set out the advances in design and technology from 1700 to the start of this century - and note some of the failures and recurrent problems. They also illustrate the critical importance of political and economic factors in determining what the engineers achieved.

George Stephenson is among the most famous engineers of all time. His rise from 'rags to riches' is a stirring story of its kind, but many of the works attributed to him should in fact be credited to young subordinates, not least his son, Robert. But much of the work of innovative engineers for his period lay not in the work itself but in persuading people that such work was desirable and necessary. It was in this field that George Stephenson excelled, providing openings in which his young proteges could change the world. They did not let him down, and we should give him full credit for being 'The Father of the Railways'. Adrian Jarvis specialises in the engineering and finance of dock and harbour construction, on which he has published extensively, but he also has a strong interest in early railways and in the general history of technology. Another book for Shire by this author is: The Victorian Engineer

NEC Arena Birmingham, November 9th 1993. Deep Purple were in crisis. No longer able to tolerate the presence of singer Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, the ace guitarist, made his displeasure known in a way that would have consequences none present could possibly have predicted. Blackmore's departure soon followed, and a merciful end seemed to have come for a band that had been riven with tensions for years. But then, after a brief dalliance with Joe Satriani, acknowledged six string maestro Steve Morse stepped in and a whole new age began. This book takes a critical look at the so-called 'Morse Era', charting the highs, the lows, the triumphs and the tragedies. It is a compelling story of albums, tours, musicians coming and musicians going, a story of a band that moved forward like few bands ever have, but who, nevertheless, could never completely escape from the shadow of that disastrous night at the NEC...

Chasing Shadows is the story of an obsessed fan's one-man quest to find the original Deep Purple singer Rod Evans. Evans dropped off the radar in 1980 following a legal case that buried him with a debt in excess of half a million dollars. Just like the mysteries that surrounded Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett and the Manic Street Preachers' Richie Edwards, nobody - literally nobody - has any idea where he is or what he has been doing. So Jarvis set himself a challenge: Find Rod Evans. Part memoir, part piece of musical history, part piece of musical mystery. In this personal quest the author relays his encounters with fellow original Deep Purple member Nick Simper and as an obsessive fan, all that that entails. Rod Evans remains the pivot throughout the book and when Deep Purple finally get accepted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame it sets the author off to the Induction Ceremony in New York where he may or may not find the Holy Grail he has sought for several years. It is also about friendship and how the people we meet influence us and share the journeys on which we embark. It is a picaresque tale, sometimes comic, sometimes moving, sometimes laced with fantasy, but it is one in which everyone - or, at any rate, everyone above a certain age - will find somewhat familiar.

Deep Purple In Rock is, as its iconic cover suggests, a landmark in rock music. From its opening moments of mayhem to its final crash into incoherent noise, it is a fuzzbox fuelled masterpiece with not a single wasted moment. Its release was also a watershed moment for the band, a defiant and irrevocable statement that they were going in a different direction from that followed on their first three albums. It would be wrong, however, to suggest that the album came from nowhere. Not only was it one side in a musical debate that had been raging within the band, but its antecedents can be traced through both Deep Purple's earlier releases and those of some of the source bands from which the principal players were drawn. Sculpting In Rock takes up that challenge, exploring the roots of the album, placing it into its proper context to consider how it was produced as well as why it was produced. Part history, part essay, part memoir, the book is essential reading for any fan of Deep Purple, In Rock or the exciting, uncompromising, genre of which it is arguably the masterpiece.