Professionally dedicated to civil engineering and architecture, Frank Latham became Penzance Borough Engineer and Surveyor in 1899, served as a captain in the Royal Engineers during the First World War, and designed the famous Penzance lido for the silver jubilee of George V. For a paper on the town's sea defences, the Civil Engineers of Ireland awarded him a medal in 1905. He had considerable practical experience in his field when he published this work in 1903. Originally written as a series of articles for a municipal engineering journal, the text was revised and presented to readers as an illustrated work of reference. In addition to his thorough explanation of the methods of road and sea-defence construction, Latham includes an appendix on the prices of the materials required. Contemporary advertisements for relevant companies and their various products further enhance the book's interest to historians of technology.