Synopses & Reviews
Science/Engineering
"Petroski has an inquisitive mind, and he is a fine writer. . . . [He] takes us on a lively tour of engineers, their creations and their necessary turns of mind." --Los Angeles Times
From the Ferris wheel to the integrated circuit, feats of engineering have changed our environment in countless ways, big and small. In Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering, Duke University's Henry Petroski focuses on the big: Malaysia's 1,482-foot Petronas Towers as well as the Panama Canal, a cut through the continental divide that required the excavation of 311 million cubic yards of earth.
Remaking the World tells the stories behind the man-made wonders of the world, from squabbles over the naming of the Hoover Dam to the effects the Titanic disaster had on the engineering community of 1912. Here, too, are the stories of the
personalities behind the wonders, from the jaunty Isambard Kingdom Brunel, designer of nineteenth-century transatlantic steamships, to Charles Steinmetz, oddball genius of the General Electric Company, whose office of preference was a battered twelve-foot canoe. Spirited and absorbing, Remaking the World is a celebration of the creative instinct and of the men and women whose inspirations have immeasurably improved our world.
"Petroski [is] America's poet laureate of technology. . . . Remaking the World is another fine book." --Houston Chronicle
"Remaking the World really is an adventure in engineering."
--San Diego Union-Tribune
Review
"Petroski has an inquisitive mind, and he is a fine writer....[He] takes us on a lively tour of engineers, their creations and their necessary turns of mind." Los Angeles Times
Review
"Petroski [is] America's poet laureate of technology....Remaking the World is another fine book." Houston Chronicle
Review
"Remaking the World really is an adventure in engineering." San Diego Union-Tribune
Review
"The book's real charm lies in the countless anecdotes and bits of historic and engineering trivia that pepper each essay....Petroski's plain-English summaries of engineering fundamentals make this a rewarding read..." Christine Larson, Forbes
Review
"A disappointingly flat collection....[Petroski] largely leaves out the ingredient that would really enlighten the reader the engineering itself." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Always well written...this is an excellent choice for general collections with a literate readership interested in technology and a good gift for the engineers on your Christmas list." Library Journal
Synopsis
From the Ferris wheel to the integrated circuit, feats of engineering have changed our environment in countless ways, big and small. In
Remaking the World, Henry Petroski reveals the effects the
Titanic disaster had on the engineering community of 1912 and details the construction of Malaysia's 1,482-foot Petronas Towers.
Here, too, are the stories of the personalities behind the wonders, from Isambard Kingdom Brunel, designer of nineteenth-century transatlantic steamships, to Charles Steinmetz, oddball genius of the General Electric Company. Spirited and absorbing, Remaking the World is a celebration of the creative instinct and of the men and women whose inspirations have immeasurably improved our world.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-226) and index.
About the Author
Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of History at Duke University, where he also serves as chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The author of seven previous books, he has received grants from the National Science Foundation and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Humanities Center.
Table of Contents
Preface
Images of an Engineer 3
Alfred Nobel's Prizes 12
Henry Martyn Robert 25
James Nasmyth 34
On the Backs of Envelopes 47
Good Drawings and Bad Dreams 56
Failed Promises 69
In Context 78
Men and Women of Progress 88
Soil Mechanics 97
Is Technology Wired? 107
Harnessing Steam 117
The Great Eastern 126
Driven by Economics 146
The Panama Canal 157
The Ferris Wheel 171
Hoover Dam 184
The Channel Tunnel 194
The Petronas Towers 203
Acknowledgments and Bibliography 213
List of Illustrations 227
Index 229
Tech Q&A
Read the Tech Q&A with Henry Petroski