- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Knopf; 1st Edition edition (Sep 16 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1400040507
- ISBN-13: 978-1400040506
- Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 16.7 x 2.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 617 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#595,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #24 in Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Design
- #24 in Books > Engineering > Design
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
"Design can be easy and difficult at the same time, but in the end, it is mostly difficult." So writes engineering professor Petroski (The Evolution of Useful Things, etc.) in his latest effort, a wide-ranging exploration of the history and design of the everyday technologies like supermarket aisles and telephone keypads that are practically invisible in their ubiquity. Petroski emphasizes that these "small things" aren't in fact the results of a smooth and simple design process, but are rather the products of a constellation of oft-conflicting constraints, frequently with unintended consequences (consider the recently redesigned, fat-handled toothbrushes that, while more ergonomic, have rendered millions of traditional toothbrush holders useless). The book meanders through this world of design, less concerned with making a direct argument than with reveling in the complexities of the ever-changing design of everyday things, such as Brita water pitchers and freeway tollbooths. The writing is engaging and approachable, and reading the book feels like sitting down for a long chat with that favorite uncle who seems to know a bit about everything and never hesitates to throw in his own take on matters. Petroski's histories of, among others, paper cups and duct tape are fascinating, and this book leaves us a little more conscious of the never-ending design process of our modern world. 22 photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
" A masterful expression of how design affects the civilized world." --Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Delightful. . . . A keen observer to the made world and how people live in it. . . . Small Things Considered provides all sorts of penetrating and broadly interesting insights into . . . the process of design.” --Scientific American
“He peers closely at some of the most common household objects and explains how they work–or don’t. . . . Whether he’s tracing the evolution of the Oral-B toothbrush or explaining why the fastest tollbooth is always the one on the right, Petroski clearly knows the designs of our times.” --Michael Dirda, INC. Magazine
“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
"Fascinating. . . . [Petroski] has combined a writer's grace with an engineer's insight to give us an engaging series of essays. . . . You'll never again take a potato peeler for granted." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Craftily, [Petroski] combines an engineer's insight and admiration for the way things are designed with a layman's puzzlement." --Boston Herald
"An engaging read." --The Denver Post
"Fascinating. . . . Interesting and insightful observations. . . . Petroski will make any reader . . . more aware of the processes that lead to the variety of things that are all around us and how they came to be the way they are." --Science Books & Film
"[Petroski] shares with Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould, and Stephen Hawking a talent for taking his passion and making it accessible to those who lack his scientific background while being sufficiently observant and meticulous to keep it interesting for those who share it." --Civil Engineering
From the Trade Paperback edition.
“Delightful. . . . A keen observer to the made world and how people live in it. . . . Small Things Considered provides all sorts of penetrating and broadly interesting insights into . . . the process of design.” --Scientific American
“He peers closely at some of the most common household objects and explains how they work–or don’t. . . . Whether he’s tracing the evolution of the Oral-B toothbrush or explaining why the fastest tollbooth is always the one on the right, Petroski clearly knows the designs of our times.” --Michael Dirda, INC. Magazine
“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
"Fascinating. . . . [Petroski] has combined a writer's grace with an engineer's insight to give us an engaging series of essays. . . . You'll never again take a potato peeler for granted." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Craftily, [Petroski] combines an engineer's insight and admiration for the way things are designed with a layman's puzzlement." --Boston Herald
"An engaging read." --The Denver Post
"Fascinating. . . . Interesting and insightful observations. . . . Petroski will make any reader . . . more aware of the processes that lead to the variety of things that are all around us and how they came to be the way they are." --Science Books & Film
"[Petroski] shares with Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould, and Stephen Hawking a talent for taking his passion and making it accessible to those who lack his scientific background while being sufficiently observant and meticulous to keep it interesting for those who share it." --Civil Engineering
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Some interestings tidbits, but very repetitive,
By
This review is from: Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design (Hardcover)
Henry Petroski's "Small Things Considered" tries to explain to the reader (who is apparently assumed to expect perfection out of everything) that there can be no such thing as a perfect solution to a problem, because every problem is subject to various factors. Every design must necessarily compromise among conflicting constraints, and no design can be perfect for everyone as these conditions vary for different people, and evolve over time. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Unfortunately, Mr. Petroski repeats this idea in every chapter. It was difficult to finish the book knowing that each new chapter would end up arguing the same point.At least each new chapter brings stories of different kinds of design, often leading to interesting anecdotes about how different commonly used products came to be where they are today. The circuitous path that Dixie cups took to being a ubiquitous household item is contrasted with the major effort that Oral-B expended on designing a cutting-edge toothbrush. The winding roads that items such as duct tape and WD-40 took to being mass-produced products serve well to illustrate Mr. Petroski's point about the way designs evolve over time. However, the fascinating examples from real life come too few and far between, for me. There is a lot of filler in the form of obvious statements ("A stairway that is too steep can cause the person who is climbing it to feel like he is using a stepladder.") and stories which stretch the definition of design. One chapter is all about the Petroski family's search for a perfect house and the problems they had with building an addition onto one of them, and seems more suited to dinner party chit chat than a book about engineering principles. I agree with Mr. Petroski's overall points and appreciate the research he has done into the history of many household objects, but overall this book was less meaty than I thought it would be.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
It's OK, but that's all I can say,
By Nuts About Books (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design (Paperback)
This was one of those books that I picked up thinking "wow, this is going to be great", and it just, well, wasn't. Although it has lots of interesting tidbits information, it is really windy. You have to sift through a lot of self-indulgent nonsense to get to the good stuff.For instance, I thought Petroski's description early in the book of the drinking glass was neat, and as the subject of a short essay, it would have been so. But after another hundred-odd pages of similar descriptions (including a very tedious chapter about home-buying which made me wonder if the author believes he's the only person who's ever gone house-shopping), the book started to seem like an excuse for a grumbling, griping brain-dump. Henry Petroski writes a lot of books about designing mundane things, but I suspect that much of it is the same book over and over. I also suspect that like many professors, he really, really loves the sound of his own voice. The book is worth reading if you like these kinds of books (and I do), but for entertaining ranting, I'll take Bill Bryson any day.
3.0 out of 5 stars
This should have been a 5-star book,
By
This review is from: Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design (Hardcover)
This book is written by someone who has written other wonderful books about what it means to be an engineer. The topic of this book -- the design of everyday items -- should offer sufficient scope for another interesting book. And indeed, the book has lots of interesting information in it. The main thesis (that design is always imperfect, and the reasons why this is so) seems as if it ought to be sufficiently engaging to hold my attention through a book-length engagement with it.Alas, the book is so poorly written that it fails on all levels. I gave it three stars because it was quite educational. On the other hand, given the author's track record and the inherent interest of the topic, three stars is an enormous disappointment. Finishing the book was hard, and I would not blame anyone who just gave up. Perhaps the author had a half-book worth of content and was forced to bulk it up to make the required word count? I don't know what happened, but I can't really recommend the book unless you are desperate to know how the paper cup came to be invented.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Engineering > Aerospace > Advanced Mechanics
- Books > Engineering > Civil > Mechanics
- Books > Engineering > Design
- Books > Engineering > Mechanical
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Engineering > Mechanical Engineering
- Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Aerospace > Advanced Mechanics
- Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Civil > Mechanics
- Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Design
- Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Mechanical
- Books > Science
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
