The author draws on his career by referring to (a) the type of knowledge which engineers acquire and lose over time, and (b) the importance of socio-economic and environmental aspects of civil engineering projects. In Memories, he recalls particular incidents in thirty countries and being confronted by unfamiliar cultures, and follows two vital threads which are woven into his experience, namely human nature and mother nature. Reflections, based upon adult education, reveal aspects of the psychological understanding of human nature and the importance of biological diversity. The author finds some areas of apparently unresolved conflict between civil engineering and the environment. Finally, in Dreams, the author quotes a United Nations set of priorities which provide a satisfying guide to the broad view of world developments and which can help to show the importance of biological and cultural diversity.
