While preparing a lecture on nineteenth-century English economic history shortly after World War 2, I learned that there existed no satisfactory life of John Loudon McAdam. This seemed surprising, in view of the immense popularity he attained in his own day, even leaving his name a legacy to the language symbolising the tremendous progress achieved by hie native country during a period of great economic flux. It then became my hope to present a study of McAdam for a doctoral dissertation if sufficient material could be found.