The Evolution Of Useful Things.
By Henry Petroski, Knopf, 1992.
 
Technology & Engineering 
 
ISBN: 0679412263
ISBN13: 9780679412267
 
How everyday artifacts - from forks and
pins to paper clips and zippers - came to be as they are. Why does the paper clip look the way it does? What makes Scotch tape Scotch?
 
Only Henry Petroski, author of The Pencil, could make one never pick up a paper clip again without being overcome with feelings of awe and reverence. The author explains how the interplay of social and technical factors affects the development and use of such things as plastic bags, fast-food packaging, push-button telephones, and other modern conveniences. Throughout the book familiar objects serve to illustrate the general principles behind the evolution of all products of invention and engineering.
 
Henry Petroski is Professor of Civil Engineering at Duke University. His previous books are to Engineer Is Human, Beyond Engineering, and The Pencil.
 
Hardcover. Like new. 288 pages.