Overview

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 innovative Tacoma Narrows Bridge twist apart in a mild wind in 1940? How did an oversized waterlily inspire the magnificent Crystal Palace, the crowning achievement of Victorian architecture and engineering? These are some of the failures and successes that Henry Petroski, author of the acclaimed The Pencil, examines in this engaging, wonderfully literate book. More than a series of fascinating case studies, To Engineer Is Human is 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.

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9781665240604

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Reading Petroski's fine book is not only a delight, it is a necessity. -- Houston Chronicle Serious, amusing, probing, sometimes frightening, and always literate. -- Los Angeles Times

"""Reading Petroski's fine book is not only a delight, it is a necessity."" -- ""Houston Chronicle"" ""Serious, amusing, probing, sometimes frightening, and always literate."" -- ""Los Angeles Times"""

Author Information

Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. His books include The Road Taken: The History and Future of America's Infrastructure and The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors: A Tale of Architectural Choice and Craftsmanship. New York-based actor Matthew Boston has over thirty years of professional experience working in theater, film, television, and voice-over. His extensive experience in both classical and contemporary works has found him in theaters not only in New York but all across the country. He received his training from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Shakespeare & Company, and the Lee Strasberg Institute. When not acting, Matthew's other passion is scuba diving in the beautiful oceans of the Caribbean. He's also perfectly content hiking and/or playing Frisbee with his golden retriever, Emma.

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