author
Charles Prelini
Best known for clear, practical books on tunneling, dredging, and excavation, this early 20th-century engineer wrote for people who wanted to understand how big infrastructure projects actually got built. His work has remained in circulation because it explains difficult technical problems in a direct, usable way.
1 Audiobook
Tunneling: A Practical Treatise.
by Charles Prelini
About the author
An American civil engineer and technical author, he is most closely associated with Tunneling: A Practical Treatise, a widely circulated manual on tunnel construction. Title pages and editions of his books identify him as Charles Prelini, C.E. and describe him as a professor of civil engineering at Manhattan College in New York.
His published work focused on the practical side of heavy construction and earthwork. Among the books linked to him are Tunneling: A Practical Treatise, Dredges and Dredging, and Graphical Determination of Earth Slopes, Retaining Walls and Dams, showing a consistent interest in excavation, foundations, and large engineering works.
Very little easily verifiable biographical detail appears to be available online beyond his professional identity and publications. What stands out is his straightforward teaching style: his books were written to explain methods, materials, and job-site problems clearly, which helps explain why they still attract readers interested in the history of civil engineering.