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    The Evolution of Useful Things

    How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to beas They are.

    Author Henry Petroski
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    Paperback
    $17.00 US
    Knopf | Vintage
    On sale Feb 01, 1994 | 304 Pages | 9780679740391
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    In this informative mixture of history, biography, and design theory, Petroski examines familiar objects to illustrate the general principles behind the evolution of all products of invention and engineering, examining screwdrivers, paper clips, Scotch tape, Post-its, and even "clamshell" fast-food containers.  He demonstrates how the evolving forms of technology generally are altered by our very sense of them, and how they, in turn, alter our social and cultural behavior.

    Table of Contents

    1. How the Fork Got Its Tines

    2. Form Follows Failure

    3. Inventors as Critics

    4. From Pins to Paper Clips

    5. Little Things Can Mean a Lot

    6. Stick Before Zip

    7. Tools Make Tools

    8. Patters of Proliferation

    9. Domestic Fashion and Industrial Design

    10. The Power of Precedent

    11. Closure Before Opening

    12. Big Bucks from Small Change

    13. When Good Is Better Than Best

    14. Always Room for Improvement
    Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University, where he also serves as chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The author of more than 15 books, he has received grants from the National Science Foundation and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Humanities Center. View titles by Henry Petroski

    "A celebration of inventiveness...By cataloging the clutter of our desks, closets, and workbenches, and giving them a human history, Petroski makes us feel more at home in our homes."- Newsweek

    "Petroski is a valuable resource—an engineer who examines the simplest, most ubiquitous tools in our live with an appraising eye."- Washington Post Book World

    "Mr. Petroski's case histories delightfully illustrate his thesis... You never know when you will turn a page and find some tiny corner of your mind enlightened."- The New York Times

    "Petroski has an eye for the mundane that distracts and delights... [His] wealth of literary and cultural references runs from Aristotle... to Russell Baker... The book has substance."- Newsday

    About

    In this informative mixture of history, biography, and design theory, Petroski examines familiar objects to illustrate the general principles behind the evolution of all products of invention and engineering, examining screwdrivers, paper clips, Scotch tape, Post-its, and even "clamshell" fast-food containers.  He demonstrates how the evolving forms of technology generally are altered by our very sense of them, and how they, in turn, alter our social and cultural behavior.

    Table of Contents

    1. How the Fork Got Its Tines

    2. Form Follows Failure

    3. Inventors as Critics

    4. From Pins to Paper Clips

    5. Little Things Can Mean a Lot

    6. Stick Before Zip

    7. Tools Make Tools

    8. Patters of Proliferation

    9. Domestic Fashion and Industrial Design

    10. The Power of Precedent

    11. Closure Before Opening

    12. Big Bucks from Small Change

    13. When Good Is Better Than Best

    14. Always Room for Improvement

    Author

    Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University, where he also serves as chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The author of more than 15 books, he has received grants from the National Science Foundation and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Humanities Center. View titles by Henry Petroski

    Praise

    "A celebration of inventiveness...By cataloging the clutter of our desks, closets, and workbenches, and giving them a human history, Petroski makes us feel more at home in our homes."- Newsweek

    "Petroski is a valuable resource—an engineer who examines the simplest, most ubiquitous tools in our live with an appraising eye."- Washington Post Book World

    "Mr. Petroski's case histories delightfully illustrate his thesis... You never know when you will turn a page and find some tiny corner of your mind enlightened."- The New York Times

    "Petroski has an eye for the mundane that distracts and delights... [His] wealth of literary and cultural references runs from Aristotle... to Russell Baker... The book has substance."- Newsday

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