The Victorians revolutionised science in the process of creating a new way of organising and changing nature, based on grand plans and the mass-mobilization of Empire's resources. Iwan Rhys Morus, a renowned science historian, explains how this future was created in this insightful and captivating book. This is a story of towering personalities, clashing ambitions, fierce rivalries, and conflicting cultures - a vibrant tapestry of remarkable lives that transformed the world and ultimately led us to the Moon. From Charles Babbage's dream of mechanising mathematics to Isambard Kingdom Brunel's tunnel beneath the Thames, from George Cayley's fantasies of powered flight to Nikola Tesla's visions of an electrical world.