What I’m reading

TONY MURRAY has been a prominent figure in South African civil engineering circles for over 40 years. He is a leading member of the South African Institute of Civil Engineers and is actively involved in chronicling the history of various aspects of civil engineering in South Africa, as well as in training and mentoring young engineers. His book,

(Tafelberg), was published last month.

I SELDOM read fiction, which I guess is a guilt complex from my student days when I had to give up the latest James Bond book in favour of studying.

But I do indulge in an occasional English crime novel of the Morse type, and I admire the works of Deon Meyer.

I enjoy biographies, and recently enjoyed Not Much of an Engineer by Sir Stanley Hooker, the man who was responsible for the design of the Rolls Royce aero engines.

At present I am into Boris Johnson’s The Churchill Factor which is a fascinating insight into the great man.

But I also find Johnson’s literary style instructive – it is so readable, and the arrangement of his material so imaginative. Is this Boris’s pitch to become a future leader of the Conservative Party and follow in the footsteps of the man he obviously admires?

I have also been dipping into Empire War and Cricket in South Africa by Dean Allen, which is right up my street – a look at South African history from a different angle, and particularly about the development of railways in the country which is a special interest of mine.

And of course I am an avid reader on matters cricket – I played league cricket until I was 60 and then was an official umpire for another five years.