Cover Image

The book on the bookshelf

Investigates the development of the bookshelf and discusses the ways in which it is intertwined with the creation of the book.

Main Author: Petroski, Henry.
Format: Downloads eBook Books eBook
Language: English
Published: New York : Alfred A. Knopf : Distributed by Random House, 1999.
Subjects:
Shelving for books > History.
Shelving for books > Europe > History.
Bookbinding > History.
Bookbinding > Europe > History.
Books > Storage > History.
Books > Storage > Europe > History.
Electronic books.
Online Access: Go to Downloadable eBook Here.
Summary: Investigates the development of the bookshelf and discusses the ways in which it is intertwined with the creation of the book.
Physical Description: 1 online resource (261 p.) : ill.
Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN: 9780307773289
0307773280
Author Notes: Henry Petroski is an American engineer with wide-ranging historical and sociocultural interests. He earned a Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1968, and became Aleksandar S. Vesic professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke University. Petroski teaches traditional engineering subjects, as well as courses for nonengineering students, that place the field in a broad social context. One of the major themes that transcends his technical and nontechnical publications is the role of failure and its contribution to successful design. This is the central theme in his study To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design, which is accessible to both engineers and general readers. This theme is also incorporated into Petroski's The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (1990), which relates the history of the pencil to broader sociocultural themes. The theme is expanded further, illustrating the relationship of engineering to our everyday life in The Evolution of Useful Things (1992). Petroski's most recent book, Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering, is planned for publication in 1994. After that, he will begin a study of the complex interrelationships between engineering and culture. Widely recognized and supported by both the technical and humanities communities, Petroski's work has effectively conveyed the richness and essence of engineering in its societal context for the general reader.

(Bowker Author Biography)

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