I spoke with Canmore-based author Dan Levert about his new book On Cold Iron.

 

Rob: What is your new book On Cold Iron about?

Dan: It’s about the Iron Ring and the Quebec bridge and a potential link between the two.

Rob: What is the Iron Ring?

Dan: The Iron Ring that is worn by Canadian engineers. Right around the time of graduation, engineering students in Canada take part in what is called the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer. It’s a ceremony that was penned by none other than Rudyard Kipling. During the ritual, the young engineering graduate takes an obligation where they promise to adhere to high professional standards and ethics, and they ask for forgiveness beforehand for their assured failures and derelictions. While the engineer takes the obligation, they hold the chain, and so they take their obligation on cold iron. The name of my book.

The book itself is a reminder of the lesson of the obligation. People may also be familiar with the Quebec bridge across the Saint Lawrence River near Quebec City. It’s a national historic site, and it still holds the world record as the longest cantilever bridge with a span of 1800 feet. Now, the bridge collapsed during construction in 1907, killing 76 men. A Royal Commission of Inquiry determined that the consulting engineer had made fundamental errors in the design of the bridge, and that’s what led to the collapse. There’s a myth that the original iron rings aim from the steel wreckage of the collapsed bridge and the ring serves as a reminder that we as engineers can make mistakes.

Rob: And you say it’s a myth. So you dug into that a little bit as well?

Dan: I have. If you want to know the real link, you’ll have to read the book.

Rob: What inspired you to write this book?

Dan: When I received my Iron Ring at my obligation ceremony in 1978 I had heard the myths, the link between the bridge and the ring, and it was always fascinated by that. But it wasn’t until 1985, during my second year of law school, I decided to look into a question of the link and picked up the transcript of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the collapse of the bridge. I was fascinated by the story of the collapse and the arrogance of the engineers who absolutely refused to believe that their design was flawed, even though the bridge was showing signs of failure well before the collapse.  It taught me a lesson similar to the lesson that was communicated by Kipling in the ritual ceremony. So I thought if the story was well told, it can serve as a reminder and be an important contribution to our profession. It took me 35 years to write it, but it’s done now and I’m glad I did it.

Rob: Congratulations! On Cold Iron is now available. Where can people pick up this book?

Dan: Go to my website, and hopefully you’ll be able to pick it up here with the local bookstore Cafe Books. I’m communicating with them now.

Rob: Once these restrictions are lifted, do you hope to do any sort of local events around the launch of this book?

Dan: Yes, I do. I’m hoping that we can do something at Café Books and perhaps a something at the library, so please stay tuned.

Filed under: books, Canmore