Customer Reviews

Slide Rule: The Autobiography of an Engineer

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I read all of Nevil Shute's books, except this autobiography, at a much earlier time. I've periodically searched for this book for the last twenty years, and now I'm so glad to have read it. It helps to explain why I enjoyed the man's novels so much.

I was aware that Mr. Shute worked in aeronautical engineering, but had no idea he played such an important role in the industry. I had pictured his early engineering work much like his character in "No Highway in the Sky", a task oriented almost 'nerd-like' man with no interest beyond the laboratory. In an age when people seem to do all possible to elevate their public persona it is refreshing to look at a man who possessed humility.

I realize now how Mr. Shute could develop such wonderful characters in his novels, people with a full range of foibles but also the quiet courage that perserveres through struggles. He had his own life and his own dignity to build upon.

The detailed account of the design and transatlantic flight of the dirigible R-100 is the most fascinating part of this book. The description of the pre-computer work of a large roomfull of engineers calculating and recalculating the stresses (iterative calculation) on the framework of the airship is amazing.