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Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design

by Henry Petroski

Comment on this title and you could win free books! Synopses & Reviews Read an Excerpt Read the Tech Q&A with Henry Petroski Comment on this title and you could win free books! ISBN13: 9781400032938 ISBN10: 1400032938 Condition: Standard All Product Details Only 1 left in stock at $7.95!

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Why has the durable paper shopping bag been largely replaced by its flimsy plastic counterpart? What circuitous chain of improvements led to such innovations as the automobile cup holder and the swiveling vegetable peeler? With the same relentless curiosity and lucid, witty prose he brought to his earlier books, Henry Petroski looks at some of our most familiar objects and reveals that they are, in fact, works in progress. For there can never be an end to the quest for the perfect design.

To illustrate his thesis, Petroski tells the story of the paper drinking cup, which owes its popularity to the discovery that water glasses could carry germs. He pays tribute to the little plastic tripod that keeps pizza from sticking to the box and analyzes the numerical layouts of telephones and handheld calculators. Small Things Considered is Petroski at his most trenchant and provocative, casting his eye not only on everyday artifacts but on their users as well.

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About the Author

Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. He is the author of ten previous books.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9781400032938

Author:

Petroski, Henry

Publisher:

Vintage Books

Subject:

Engineering - Mechanical

Subject:

Mechanical

Subject:

Mechanical Engineering-General

Copyright:

2004

Edition Description:

Trade paper

Series:

Vintage

Publication Date:

20040931

Binding:

TRADE PAPER

Grade Level:

General/trade

Language:

English

Illustrations:

21 ILLUSTRATIONS

Pages:

304

Dimensions:

8.08x5.22x.63 in. .64 lbs.

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Related Subjects

Arts and Entertainment » Art » Design History
Computers and Internet » Desktop Publishing » General
Engineering » Mechanical Engineering » General
Reference » Science Reference » General
Science and Mathematics » History of Science » Technology

Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design Used Trade Paper Henry Petroski

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Product details 304 pages Vintage - 2013-02-08 English 9781400032938 Reviews: