The Canal Builders is a classic history book for anyone interested in the development of Britain's canal system. the book, which was first published in the 1970s, is now republished here in a new fifth edition. It takes the reader from the middle of the eighteenth century, to the start of the railway age in the early nineteenth century. Anthony Burton has revised and improved the original text, using new material found in archives since its first publication, and has added many extra illustrations. This is the remarkable story of the many groups of people responsible for building Britain's canal system. Included are industrialists such as Josiah Wedgwood, who promoted canals to help his own industry, and speculators who financed the projects in the hope of a good return. The work was planned by engineers such as James Brindley and Thomas Telford, while other engineers have remained virtually unknown despite their magnificent contributions. This is also the story of the great, anonymous army of men who actually did the work - the navvies and this was the first book ever to study the lives of these labourers in detail. Altogether it is an epic story of now the development of this transport network made the industrial revolution possible.