000 02218nam a2200253 4500
001 UNI0000319
005 20140919155136.0
010 _a0674463684 (paperback)
_b$22.00
010 _a9780674463684 (paperback)
090 _a92510
_992510
100 _a20130227 frey50
101 _aeng
102 _b??
105 _ay |y
200 _aInvention by design; how engineers get from thought to thing
_fHenry Petroski
_bLIVR
210 _a[S.l.] :
_cHarvard University Press
_d1996
215 _a242 p.
_d23 cm
300 0 _aHenry Petroski's previous bestsellers have delighted readers with intriguing stories about the engineering marvels around us, from the lowly pencil to the soaring suspension bridge. 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. Engineering entails more than knowing the way things work. What do economics and ecology, aesthetics and ethics, have to do with the shape of a paper clip, the tab of a beverage can, the cabin design of a turbojet, or the course of a river? How do the idiosyncrasies of individual engineers, companies, and communities leave their mark on projects from Velcro� to fax machines to waterworks? Invention by Design offers an insider's look at these political and cultural dimensions of design and development, production and construction. Readers unfamiliar with engineering will find Petroski's enthusiasm contagious, whether the topic is the genesis of the Ziploc baggie or the averted collapse of Manhattan's sleekest skyscraper. And those who inhabit the world of engineering will discover insights to challenge their customary perspective, whether their work involves failure analysis, systems design, or public relations. Written with the flair that readers have come to expect from his books, Invention by Design reaffirms Petroski as the master explicator of the principles and processes that turn thoughts into the many things that define our made world.
676 _a620.0042
_zeng
700 1 _aPetroski,
_bHenry.
_92427
720 _4070
721 _4070
722 _4070
801 0 _aUS
_bDCLC
_gAACR2
_c19130227