The Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer by Samuel Smiles

According to Wikipedia: "Thomas Telford (1757–1834) was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well as harbours and tunnels. Such was his reputation as a prolific designer of highways and related bridges, he was dubbed The Colossus of Roads, and, reflecting his command of all types of civil engineering in the early 19th century, he was elected as the first President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a post he retained for 14 years until his death.... Samuel Smiles (23 December 1812 – 16 April 1904), was a Scottish author and reformer. ... Smiles is best known today as the writer of books extolling virtues of self help, and biographies lauding the achievements of "heroic" engineers."