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Petroski, Henry (20 Books, 170 Papers)
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* Henry Petroski - Adventures in Engineering and Design (20 books, 170 papers)
HENRY PETROSKI (1942 – 2023) was an American engineer specializing in failure analysis. A professor both of civil engineering and history at Duke University, he was also a prolific author who demystified engineering with literary examinations of the designs and failures of large structures like buildings and bridges, as well as common, everyday objects, such as pencils, paper clips, toothpicks, and silverware. His readership included a wide range of engineers who enjoyed his books because they presented the bigger picture of the profession, as well as non-engineers and armchair inventors.
Petroski adapted the architectural axiom "form follows function" into one of his own — "form follows failure" — and addressed the subject extensively in books, lectures, scholarly journals, newspapers and magazines. "Failure is central to engineering," he said in a 2006 interview with The New York Times. "Every single calculation that an engineer makes is a failure calculation. Successful engineering is all about understanding how things break or fail."
The sinking of a North Sea oil rig in 1980, followed the next year by the ruinous collapse of elevated walkways inside the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel, spurred Petroski to investigate some of the more notable failures of engineering. His first book, TO ENGINEER IS HUMAN: THE ROLE OF FAILURE IN SUCCESSFUL DESIGN (1985), explained relevant engineering principles and how engineers deal with such risks in a way that non-professionals could understand. More than a series of fascinating case studies, the book examines our deepest notions of progress and perfection, tracing the fine connection between the quantifiable realm of science and the chaotic realities of everyday life.
Petroski earned a great deal of critical attention for THE PENCIL: A HISTORY OF DESIGN AND CIRCUMSTANCE (1990). More than just the chronological story of a humble object, Petroski argued the pencil and its development is symbolic for all technological advance. Though its creation was born of the accidental discovery of graphite, the perfection of the pencil as an artifact evolved by deliberate inventiveness, and what resulted was an object that nearly every literate person on the planet has used. "The very commonness of the pencil, the characteristic of it that renders it all but invisible and seemingly valueless, is really the first feature of successful engineering," Petroski wrote. "Good engineering blends into the environment, becomes a part of society and culture so naturally that a special effort is required to notice it."
THE EVOLUTION OF USEFUL THINGS (1992) contains essays on the evolution of the paper clip, the Post-it Note, the zipper, fast-food packaging, masking tape, and even the safety pin. Another collection of essays, REMAKING THE WORLD: ADVENTURES IN ENGINEERING (1997), explores the ways in which engineers sometimes inadvertently alter the course of history. "The book's real charm," one reviewer wrote, "lies in the countless anecdotes and bits of historic and engineering trivia that pepper each essay, rich details guaranteed to stay with you."
His other books include THE TOOTHPICK: TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE (2007), which examines its evolution from a form used by early hominids to the creation of the modern toothpick industry in the 19th century; SMALL THINGS CONSIDERED: WHY THERE IS NO PERFECT DESIGN (2003); and TO FORGIVE DESIGN: UNDERSTANDING FAILURE (2012), which continues where "To Engineer Is Human" ended, with analyses of the loss of NASA's two space shuttles, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and other epic engineering fails.
Henry Petroski died on June 14, 2023, in Durham, North Carolina.
In addition to 170 papers (unlisted), the following books are in ePub and/or PDF format as indicated:
* An Engineer's Alphabet (Cambridge, 2011) – PDF
* The Book on the Bookshelf (Knopf, 1999) – ePub
* Design Paradigms (Cambridge, 1994) – ePub
* Engineers of Dreams (Vintage, 1996) – ePub
* The Essential Engineer (Knopf, 2010) – ePub
* The Evolution of Useful Things (Vintage, 1994) – ePub
* Force (Yale, 2022) – ePub + PDF
* The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors (Norton, 2014) – ePub
* Invention by Design (Harvard, 1996) – PDF
* Paperboy: Confessions of a Future Engineer (Vintage, 2003) – PDF
* The Pencil: A History of Design & Circumstance (Knopf, 2010) – ePub
* Pushing the Limits: New Adventures in Engineering (Vintage, 2005) – ePub
* Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering (Vintage, 1999) – ePub
* The Road Taken (Bloomsbury, 2016) – ePub
* Small Things Considered (Vintage, 2004) – ePub
* Success Through Failure (Princeton, 2006) – ePub
* Success Through Failure [with new Preface] (Princeton, 2018) – PDF
* To Engineer is Human (St. Martin's, 2018) – ePub
* To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure (Harvard, 2012) – PDF
* The Toothpick: Technology and Culture (Knopf, 2007) – ePub
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FILE LIST
Filename
Size
Papers/Petroski, Henry - A Little Learning_ A Parent's Introduction to Reading (1981).pdf
641 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - A Short History of Nuclear Editing (1983).pdf
722.9 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - All Afternoon (1974).pdf
123.4 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - An Engineer’s Alphabet (2011).pdf
1.3 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Beginnings of the American Society of Civil Engineers (2009).pdf
151.1 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Bridge of Size [review] (1987).pdf
265.2 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Building firm foundations (1995).pdf
320.5 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Building the Nineteenth Century [review] (1997).pdf
607.2 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Case Histories and the Study of Structural Failures (1995).pdf
3.7 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Closure [to Failure as Source of Engineering Judgment] (1994).pdf
68 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Constructing a Bridge [review] (1997).pdf
97.5 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Controllable States of Elastic Heat Conductors (1968).pdf
1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Controllable States of Elastic Heat Conductors Obeying Fourier Law (1975).pdf
856.5 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Controllable States of Rigid Heat Conductors (1968).pdf
286.8 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Crossing the Valley of Death (2017).pdf
270.8 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Departures from Fourier's Law (1975).pdf
254.9 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Doing Time on the Couch [poem] (1973).pdf
180.6 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Dynamic Response of Cracked Fast Reactor Subassembly Ducts (1980).pdf
1.3 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Effects of Cracks on the Response of Circular Cylindrical Shells (1980).pdf
3.8 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Electric Schizophrenic Villanelle (1976).pdf
119.8 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering Spelled Out (2011).pdf
412.6 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering Waldo-Hancock Bridge (2006).pdf
1.2 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering ≠ Science (2010).pdf
882.7 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ A Bridge and Observator (2008).pdf
1.6 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ A Great Profession (2006).pdf
1.1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ An Independent Inventor (1998).pdf
1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Art and Iron and Steel (2002).pdf
1.3 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Benjamin Franklin Bridge (2002).pdf
1.4 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Big Dig, Big Bridge (2004).pdf
1.2 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Bilbao (1998).pdf
2.3 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Boat Lifts (2004).pdf
1.3 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Bridges of America (1996).pdf
1.9 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Buildings and Bookstacks (1999).pdf
1.4 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ China Journal I (2001).pdf
1.8 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ China Journal II (2001).pdf
1.2 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Concrete Canoes (2000).pdf
1.3 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Daubert and Kumho (1999).pdf
1000.1 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Delivering Papers (2002).pdf
1.5 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Deployable Structures (2004).pdf
1.4 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Designed to Fail (1997).pdf
1.6 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Development and Research (1997).pdf
721.3 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Dorton Arena (2002).pdf
1.3 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Down Under (1999).pdf
1.1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Driven by Economics (1991).pdf
1.5 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Early Education (2003).pdf
894.8 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Engineers as Writers (1993).pdf
1.5 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Engineers' Dreams (1997).pdf
836.4 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Failed Promises (1994).pdf
940.9 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Fax and Context (1996).pdf
1.1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Fazlur Khan (1999).pdf
1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Floating Bridges (2003).pdf
1.4 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Framing Hypotheses (2003).pdf
1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Fuel Cells (2003).pdf
1.1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Harnessing Steam (1996).pdf
1.6 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Henry Martyn Robert (1996).pdf
1.1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ History and Failure (1992).pdf
1.2 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Hotel Design (2003).pdf
1.1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Human Factors (2000).pdf
1.3 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Images of an Engineer (1991).pdf
1.1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ In Context (1991).pdf
708.4 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Industrial Origami (2005).pdf
1.1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ John Scott Russell (1998).pdf
895.3 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Lab Notes (2007).pdf
1.2 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Le Pont de Normandie (1995).pdf
1.5 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Learning from Paper Clips (1995).pdf
1.1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Levees and Other Raised Ground (2006).pdf
1.6 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Lives Of The Engineers (2004).pdf
1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Long Crossings (2007).pdf
1.3 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Making Sure (1992).pdf
1.4 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Men and Women of Progress (1994).pdf
1.1 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Millennium Legacies (2001).pdf
1.2 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ New and Future Bridges (1998).pdf
1.5 MB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ Next Slide, Please (2005).pdf
1014 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ On Dating Inventions (1993).pdf
915.2 KB
Papers/Petroski, Henry - Engineering_ On the Backs of Envelopes (1991).pdf
946.1 KB
Petroski, Henry - An Engineer's Alphabet_ Gleanings from the Softer Side of a Profession (Cambridge, 2011).pdf
4.1 MB
Petroski, Henry - Design Paradigms_ Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering (Cambridge, 1994).epub
5.7 MB
Petroski, Henry - Engineers of Dreams_ Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of America (Vintage, 1996).epub
13.3 MB
Petroski, Henry - Force_ What It Means to Push and Pull, Slip and Grip, Start and Stop (Yale, 2022).epub
6.2 MB
Petroski, Henry - Force_ What It Means to Push and Pull, Slip and Grip, Start and Stop (Yale, 2022).pdf
25.5 MB
Petroski, Henry - Invention by Design_ How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing (Harvard, 1996).pdf
14 MB
Petroski, Henry - Paperboy_ Confessions of a Future Engineer (Vintage, 2003).pdf
8.5 MB
Petroski, Henry - Pushing the Limits_ New Adventures in Engineering (Vintage, 2005).epub
3.1 MB
Petroski, Henry - Remaking the World_ Adventures in Engineering (Vintage, 1999).epub
2.5 MB
Petroski, Henry - Small Things Considered_ Why There Is No Perfect Design (Vintage, 2004).epub
1.8 MB
Petroski, Henry - Success Through Failure_ The Paradox of Design (Princeton, 2006).epub
2.4 MB
Petroski, Henry - Success Through Failure_ The Paradox of Design (Princeton, 2018).pdf
19.3 MB
Petroski, Henry - The Book on the Bookshelf (Knopf, 1999).epub
7.8 MB
Petroski, Henry - The Essential Engineer (Knopf, 2010).epub
3.1 MB
Petroski, Henry - The Evolution of Useful Things (Vintage, 1994).epub
5.6 MB
Petroski, Henry - The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors_ A Tale of Architectural Choice and Craftsmanship (Norton, 2014).epub
7.9 MB
Petroski, Henry - The Pencil_ A History of Design and Circumstance (Knopf, 2010).epub
6.4 MB
Petroski, Henry - The Road Taken_ The History and Future of America's Infrastructure (Bloomsbury, 2016).epub
6.3 MB
Petroski, Henry - The Toothpick_ Technology and Culture (Knopf, 2007).epub
6 MB
Petroski, Henry - To Engineer is Human_ The Role of Failure in Successful Design (St. Martin's, 2018).epub
1.2 MB
Petroski, Henry - To Forgive Design_ Understanding Failure (Harvard, 2012).pdf
1.5 MB
_Henry Petroski - Adventures in Engineering and Design (20 books, 170 papers).txt
5 KB
_Obituary of Henry Petroski (NYT, 23 June 2023).pdf
