Fetherston, educated in physics and geology, knows his undersea chalk strata. He provides a deep look into the arcane art of tunneling. And art it clearly is, even at this sophisticated level. A mere 8,300 years ago, no one dreamed of a tunnel, because the Channel didn't exist. Early Europeans wandered on foot between England and Holland.
Choppy waters run shallow, it seems.
Tunneling schemes date back to at least 1715. Teams actually began digging in the 1870s, cutting a mile of tunnel on the French side and a bit more on the British side. But Britons' fears of losing their national moat, as Shakespeare termed it, stopped the diggers every time. They could even wear their uniforms, he suggested, if they pulled down the blinds. Just why rugged nationalist Margaret Thatcher, of all people, let down Britain's guard is an issue Fetherston neglects.