"The modern world was made in an unruly age of tremendous possibility. And this is the story of that age - an epic of sweat and science, full of bloody-minded, brilliant and heroic characters. It is about men, animals and machines, about the seafarers, engineers, inventors and trailblazers who built the sinews of transport and communication that enabled the British to hold together an empire across vast oceans, deserts, mountains and forests, and the Americans to push their frontiers west. It was a wonder of technique, logistics and nerve. Trevor Fishlock puts the reader before the mast, on the dusty road, on the sledge, in the howdah and aboard the clanking steamer. It is a thrilling journey." "Conquerors of Time celebrates the courage, energy, innovation, resourcefulness and grand ideas of these pioneers. It wonders at the imperatives, beliefs and sheer confidence that powered extraordinary achievements. Packed with detail, it is a narrative both vivid and moving."--BOOK JACKET.