Synopses & Reviews
andlt;bandgt;The Best Tool of the Millenniumandlt;/bandgt; andlt;BRandgt; The seeds of Rybczynski's elegant and illuminating new book were sown by andlt;iandgt;The New York Times,andlt;/iandgt; whose editors asked him to write an essay identifying "the best tool of the millennium." An award-winning author who once built a house using only hand tools, Rybczynski has intimate knowledge of the toolbox -- both its contents and its history -- which serves him beautifully on his quest. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;iandgt;One Good Turnandlt;/iandgt; is a story starring Archimedes, who invented the water screw and introduced the helix, and Leonardo, who sketched a machine for carving wood screws. It is a story of mechanical discovery and genius that takes readers from ancient Greece to car design in the age of American industry. Rybczynski writes an ode to the screw, without which there would be no telescope, no microscope -- in short, no enlightenment science. One of our finest cultural and architectural historians, Rybczynski renders a graceful, original, and engaging portrait of the tool that changed the course of civilization.
Review
M. R. Montgomery andlt;iandgt;The New York Times Book Reviewandlt;/iandgt; What Rybczynski sees is that everything that requires mechanical precision, and that includes the instrumentation of modern science, rises out of the perfection of the simple screw and the complex machinery required to manufacture these indispensable items.
Review
Paul Challen andlt;iandgt;The Toronto Starandlt;/iandgt; andlt;iandgt;One Good Turnandlt;/iandgt; is a good, short read in the classic Rybczynksi mode -- an ordinary thing, explained extraordinarily.
Synopsis
Insightful, deft...an easy-to-follow tour of Palladio's greatest legacy.
Synopsis
The Best Tool of the Millennium The seeds of Rybczynski's elegant and illuminating new book were sown by The New York Times, whose editors asked him to write an essay identifying "the best tool of the millennium." An award-winning author who once built a house using only hand tools, Rybczynski has intimate knowledge of the toolbox -- both its contents and its history -- which serves him beautifully on his quest.
One Good Turn is a story starring Archimedes, who invented the water screw and introduced the helix, and Leonardo, who sketched a machine for carving wood screws. It is a story of mechanical discovery and genius that takes readers from ancient Greece to car design in the age of American industry. Rybczynski writes an ode to the screw, without which there would be no telescope, no microscope -- in short, no enlightenment science. One of our finest cultural and architectural historians, Rybczynski renders a graceful, original, and engaging portrait of the tool that changed the course of civilization.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;Witold Rybczynskiandlt;/Bandgt;, born in Edinburgh, raised in Canada, and currently living in Philadelphia, is the Meyerson Professor of Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania. He has written on architecture and urbanism for andlt;i andgt;The New York Timesandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;i andgt;The Atlanticandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;i andgt;The New Yorkerandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;i andgt;Slateandlt;/iandgt;, and is the author of the critically acclaimed andlt;i andgt;Homeandlt;/iandgt; and the andlt;i andgt;A Clearing in the Distanceandlt;/iandgt;, a biography of frederick Law Olmsted, for which he was awarded the J. Anthony Lukas Prize. He is the recipient of the National Building Museumand#8217;s 2007 Vincent Scully Prize.
Table of Contents
andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter One: andlt;Iandgt;The Carpenter's Toolboxandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter Two: andlt;Iandgt;Turnscrewsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter Three: andlt;Iandgt;Lock, Stock, and Barrelandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter Four: andlt;Iandgt;The Biggest Little Inventionandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter Five: andlt;Iandgt;Delicate Adjustmentsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter Six: andlt;Iandgt;Mechanical Bentandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter Seven: andlt;Iandgt;Father of the Screwandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;GLOSSARY OF TOOLSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;ACKNOWLEDGMENTSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;NOTESandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;TEXT ILLUSTRATION SOURCESandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;INDEX