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| This hardback book is one of the KHL Classic Construction Series. It was first published in German and appeared in English in 1997.
The scope of the book is certainly ambitious given the timescale it seeks to cover. The early part of the book is a narrative of early earthmoving activities from the 1500s onwards and it is well supplemented by drawings of early machines. It quickly moves on to the 19th century and the advent of steam power, and here some familiar names begin appearing and there are photos instead of drawings of some of the old machines. There is an interesting short section on the Panama Canal.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of the book deals with the period from 1900 onwards, and so the volume of material and photos is greater. In fact the book has a great collection of historic photos of earthmoving machines. All types of machine are covered, and the text traces the development of machine types rather than concentrating on the history of the companies involved. With that said, all the big names get mentioned as their machine developments get introduced.
The book seems to have a greater focus on European and American machinery, and the worldwide export growth of Japanese machines at the end of the 20th century is barely noted, and at the time the book was written Chinese machines were pretty much unknown.
In summary this is a very good book for anyone interested in earthmoving machinery. The easy read combines with numerous illustrations and photos to engage a reader.
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