"A fascinating potpourri of history, engineering, and imagination, all presented in the fluid, humane writing style that we have come to expect from this author." –
The Washington Post Book World "A pleasure. . . . It is a measure of Mr. Petroski's skill and sensibility that his essays about structures made of steel and stone so frequently provide a sense of that large humanity, as well." –
New York Sun "He writes clearly about complicated subjects, and provides lucid explanations and penetrating insights." –
The New York Review of Books "Henry Petroski turns an expert eye on the technology–and economics and vanity–behind [building]. The most compelling chapters concern disasters, from the collapse to the World Trade Center to the whip-snapping death of the Tacoma Narrows bridge. These essays are elegantly written and consistently thought-provoking." –
New Scientist "Henry Petroski has become the main emissary from the world of engineering to the rest of us. . . . He brings clarity and good sense to his subject, making the enigmatic world of things a little less mystifying." –
Austin American-Statesman "Petroski writes . . . with the observant eye of an engineer and the imaginative heart of a novelist." –
Los Angeles Times "An unlikely combination of mathematical brain power and a more irrational curiosity. . . . Petroski not only can put science in laymen's terms, but also can do so without killing its magic." –
The Christian Science Monitor "Petroski . . . asks us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary." –
Chicago Tribune "[There is] pleasure [in] seeing Henry Petroski's playful mind at work." –
Scientific American
