To Engineer Is Human

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Henry Petroski

Vintage Books, New York, 1992, 1985, English

Nonfiction, Architecture

5.2 x 8 inches, paperback, 272 pages

ISBN: 9780679734161

Suggested Retail Price: $15.95

From the Publisher. How did a simple design error cause one of the great disasters of the 1980s—the collapse of the walkways at the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel? What made the graceful and innovating Tacoma Narrows Bridge twist apart in a mild wind in 1940? How did an oversize waterlily inspire the magnificent Crystal Palace, the crowning achievement of Victorian architecture and engineering? These are some of the failures and successes that Petroski examines in this book, a work that looks at our deepest notions of progress and perfection, tracing the fine connection between the quantifiable realm of science and the chaotic realities of everyday life.

On 2 book lists

Giuseppe Lignano

On Giuseppe Lignano’s Book List

To discover, experiment, and invent. This is all we (LOT-EK) do and it really is the only way to evolve. And it is full of unpredictable risk and actual failure—no matter how “scientifically” we try to anticipate the outcomes (as this book argues). Our evolution accelerates in leaps where so much risk is involved and we simply love it.

Ada Tolla

On Ada Tolla’s Book List

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