Invention by Design : How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing by Henry Petroski

merchant-1977
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Item specifics

Condition
Very Good: A book that does not look new and has been read but is in excellent condition. No obvious ...
ISBN
9780674463677
Book Title
Invention by Design : How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing
Publisher
Harvard University Press
Item Length
9 in
Publication Year
1996
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Illustrator
Yes
Item Height
1 in
Author
Henry Petroski
Genre
Technology & Engineering
Topic
Engineering (General), Industrial Design / General, Inventions, Civil / General
Item Weight
17.6 Oz
Item Width
6 in
Number of Pages
256 Pages
Category

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Harvard University Press
ISBN-10
0674463676
ISBN-13
9780674463677
eBay Product ID (ePID)
966792

Product Key Features

Book Title
Invention by Design : How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing
Number of Pages
256 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
1996
Topic
Engineering (General), Industrial Design / General, Inventions, Civil / General
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Technology & Engineering
Author
Henry Petroski
Format
Hardcover

Dimensions

Item Height
1 in
Item Weight
17.6 Oz
Item Length
9 in
Item Width
6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
96-019227
Dewey Edition
21
Reviews
Petroski light-heartedly though soundly exposes the so-called engineer's thinking, which from its position within the field of science and technology is more concerned with designing than with calculating. The book makes elegant connections between the design features of a variety of "engineering products." These are discussed in the most natural-seeming of series; from paper clip, pencil and zipper, via problems of water and air transport, to designs for bridges and skyscrapers. The reader is, as it were, trained to be an inquisitive designer. Scattered throughout the book are brief mental exercises in the shape of entertaining questions regarding designed details of the real world (Why are ashtrays in aircraft glued shut? What structural precautions need to be taken if a complete oil platform, whose length is greater than the height of the highest building in the world, is to be moved from a horizontal to a vertical position?) This arrangement explains why the book is required reading for many a student. But Petroski also achieves the necessary depth whenever he explains in detail the principles and processes which lie behind existing and widely known products...[Invention by Design] does comprise an outstanding source of knowledge and inspiration as much about history as about design approaches., [A] lucid and lively book...Whether designing something as small as a pencil or as large as the World Trade Center, successful engineers must not only devise new technology but also find a way to situate that technology within the existing economic, social, and ecological order. Every case study includes well-chosen pictures and schematic drawings to clarify how inventors resolve technical difficulties, and the carefully researched text explains how they make their new creations economically feasible and socially acceptable. Students of technology will delight in one part of the book, cultural historians in another, but both groups will praise the author., The technical aspects of [Petroski's] stories are very appealing. To see a pencil as a cantilever beam or a beverage can as a pressure vessel is to feel the power of engineering insight. The technical aspects of [Petroski's] stories are very appealing. To see a pencil as a cantilever beam or a beverage can as a pressure vessel is to feel the power of engineering insight., If in Invention by Design Henry Petroski doesn't quite endow engineers with all the nobility and cachet of the artist, he does make the products of their work--the beer cans from which we drink, the airplanes in which we fly--the interesting things they truly are. Each of these--along with the paper clip, pencil, zipper, fax machine, water-supply system, bridge and skyscraper--Petroski honors with a heavily illustrated chapter, each a glimpse into the workings of engineering design...[Petroski] tells a good story...The technical aspects of [Petroski's] stories are very appealing. To see a pencil as a cantilever beam or a beverage can as a pressure vessel is to feel the power of engineering insight. The technical aspects of [Petroski's] stories are very appealing. To see a pencil as a cantilever beam or a beverage can as a pressure vessel is to feel the power of engineering insight., Petroski...has done much to make the nerdy world of engineering interesting and accessible to the reader. Here, he's after a difference audience, one interested in the philosophy and cultural study of the process of invention...This book is engaging...[It's] good reading for those interested in the gestalt of engineering design., This is a delightful book to read. Ostensibly, written for intelligent laypersons to give some understanding of how we got to the technological world in which we now live, it will probably be read and enjoyed as much or even more by engineering and product designers., Petroski is, essentially, a cheerleader for civil engineers, who are at their most successful when their designs blend so completely into our environment that we forget about the magnificent achievements they represent. Here Petroski takes a look at the development of such things as pencils, zippers, paper clips, the fax machine, turbojet aircraft, suspension bridges, aluminum beverage cans, and the systems that heat and cool modern buildings...[A] pleasant, readable, and persuasive [book]., People who think engineering is a bore have never read anything by Henry Petroski. A professor of civil engineering and history at Duke University, Petroski is notable for writing an entire book about pencils...and making the whole 400 pages completely fascinating. His newest book, which proclaims itself as showing 'how engineers get from thought to thing,' is equally interesting...Invention by Design uses 10 short case studies to introduce some of the discipline's salient principles and techniques...Readers end up with a wonderful accumulation of fun facts...Such details do more than entertain. They show how engineers work and emphasize how engineers must go beyond design and analysis to consider the risks and consequences of a product's failure, ensure quality control, minimize costs and satisfy the dictates of aesthetics, politics and social attitudes.
Dewey Decimal
620/.0042
Table Of Content
Preface Introduction Paper Clips and Design Pencil Points and Analysis Zippers and Development Aluminum Cans and Failure Facsimile and Networks Airplanes and Computers Water and Society Bridges and Politics Buildings and Systems References and Further Reading Illustration Credits Index
Synopsis
In this book, Petroski delves deeper into the mystery of invention, to explore what everyday artifacts and sophisticated networks can reveal about the way engineers solve problems.
LC Classification Number
TA174.P4735 1996

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merchant-1977

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    Item not in condition described - received good/fair condition vs 'like new' - otherwise transaction completed.
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    Charged separate shipping for 3 records despite my request for combined shipping — all arrived in a single package. One record was incorrect. I returned it as instructed but never received a refund or reimbursement for return shipping. The seller stopped responding. I eventually got a refund through customer support, but was never reimbursed for the extra shipping charges.
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  • 7***a (746)- Feedback left by buyer.
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    Overall I’m happy with the book. I am not happy with how it was shipped. Because of feedback I’d seen from this seller about how books were shipped I specifically asked that he ensure it was protected during shipping. Instead it came in a manilla envelope and bubble wrap. So in short I don’t think I’ll be doing business with this seller again.
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