Slide Rule
Jan 2010 · Random House
4.7star
3 reviewsreport
eBook
272
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About this eBook
Nevil Shute was a power and a pioneer in the world of flying long before he began to write the stories that made him a bestselling novelist. This autobiography charts Shute's path from childhood to his career as a gifted aeronautical engineer working at the forefront of the technological experimentation of the 1920s and 30s. The inspiration for many of the themes and concerns of Shute's novels can be identified in this enjoyable and enlightening memoir.
Ratings and reviews
4.7
3 reviews
David Whittaker
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26 October 2022
The book is the rare testimony of a great author who was an eye witness at some of the pivotal events of the first half of the 20th century. Unfortunately it stops just before his role with the Royal Navy and does not include his latter life. By now his work for the navy during WWII should be declassified so it would be wonderful if someone wrote about that. As it is, it is rare for some to have his personal experience as an engineer and communicate what it was like to a latter generation. The book is a must read for any parent of an aspiring engineer.
About the author
Nevil Shute was born on 17 January 1899 in Ealing, London. After attending the Dragon School and Shrewsbury School, he studied Engineering Science at Balliol College, Oxford. He worked as an aeronautical engineer and published his first novel, Marazan, in 1926. In 1931 he married Frances Mary Heaton and they went on to have two daughters. During the Second World War he joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve where he worked on developing secret weapons. After the war he continued to write and settled in Australia where he lived until his death on 12 January 1960. His most celebrated novels include Pied Piper (1942), No Highway (1948), A Town Like Alice (1950) and On the Beach (1957).
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